First steps with NEST
by LCDRFireFly
Summary: Lennox is trying to save the world after the Autobots' spacecraft had been ambushed and destroyed and runs into Felice, a young NAVY officer who finds herself in the middle of the giant alien battle in Chicago. How will their paths cross? Takes place during and after DOTM!
1. Chapter 1

**First steps with NEST**

**Will Lennox x OC**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, just Felice. :)**

**AN: Hey guys, this is my first story I will bring up here, so please be nice. I am no native speaker so I apologize for every mistake. This story takes place in and after DOTM and is focused more on Lennox personal life rather than epic battle scenes. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it!**

**Prologue:**

Lieutenant Commander Felice Manning got off the plane that had just landed at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC and glanced around. The warm air was filled with scents of the arriving spring and the sun was shining in her face so she shielded her eyes with her hands.

The blond woman smiled silently as she thought about why she was here.

_"Guess, I'll see you in DC." _This had been his words and after thinking it over and over again, she'd decided to take his offer: to join Will Lennox' NEST taskforce.

_Two months earlier…_

She was an F-18 pilot at the U.S.S. Carl Vinson and for the first time in months she was able to take some leave. So she went to Huntsville, Texas to see some old friends. One of them was Robert Epps she used to know from Miami where they had both worked and lived for several years before Epps went to the Air Force while Felice joint the NAVY.

One evening, they were sitting on his porch, having barbecue with some friends when Epps received a call from his employer which was now NASA. He was one of the few people who took care of the Autobots' spacecraft Xantium. Not telling her why he had to leave in a hurry, Felice stayed at his home, just to see him return hours later with a young man, who introduced himself as Sam Witwicky.

The Decepticons had taken his girlfriend hostage and killed all Autobots who were sent away from earth in their spacecraft which exploded just after the take-off. Now they were about to go to Chicago to free Sam's girlfriend and stop the Decepticon invasion.

"Alright, I am coming with you guys." Felice said as she heard what they were about to do. Even though the news she'd seen about the alien invasion had filled her with horror, staying at home and waiting for someone else to step up for her and countless more lives to safe wasn't an option for her. She'd jointed the NAVY to make a difference, to protect this country and the people living in it. But her friend's stern reply was about to stop her.

"No, Felice. This is too dangerous." Epps insisted, searching for his rifle and gear from his NEST days.

"Come on, I am an F-18 pilot, I have been in way more dangerous situations! I am coming with you." she exclaimed heading to her car to get her bag with her rifle, protective gear and work clothes- a grey combat uniform and black boots. Epps rolled his eyes as he saw her getting ready. He'd known Felice for a long time so he knew that there was no chance to talk her out of it.

"Fine, _Lieutenant_. But you have to follow my orders exactly. These are no enemies you kill that easily."

"Okay, I got it. Are we saving the world now, or what?" she said with half a grin to conceal her nervousness and got into his car.


	2. Chapter 2

The closer they came to Chicago, the more Felice understood what Epps must have meant when he told her about the Decepticons during their ride. Felice had been deployed several times and she'd seen much, but this was beyond anything she could describe.

Horrified, she watched people running away from the enemy who shot them, leaving barley more than a handful of ashes of their existence.

"Are we really going into this?" a friend of Epps, who had been at NEST too, asked and Felice was exactly thinking the same. But they had no time to argue about it, because they were attacked by a Decepticon in some sort of plane. Felice threw herself to the ground and raised her rifle but she knew that it wouldn't help much to fire at the enemy. Then, suddenly, the alien plane crashed nearby and the next moment Felice watched a giant robot walking towards them who must have taken down the Decepticon.

"I saw your ship blow up." Sam said; his voice full with surprise.

"The ship? We were never in the ship! We designed the damn thing, didn't we?" a smaller Autobot whose alt-mode seemed to be a Nascar replied.

"We waited in the first booster rocket to separate. Crashed down in the Atlantic." a second one added with a strong British accent.

After they explained their getaway from the spacecraft, they decided to send Sam and a yellow Autobot named Bumblebee into the city to find his girlfriend while the others would search of a way to destroy the pillars that were used to form a space bridge to bring their damaged home planet into earth's atmosphere to rebuild it.

So Felice followed Epps and their friends into the city, still confused about what she'd just seen in the past few hours. They made their way into the city, nearly getting killed by a giant metal worm and its owner: Shockwave. Meanwhile they were able to inform NEST about their situation via a military drone who was shot down nearby.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Epps' voice startled her.

"I'm fine, despite I am in the middle of a giant robo-fight and the fate of our planet lays on a couple of former NEST members and their Autobot friends." she shrugged and tried to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Help is on the way. Everything will be fine." Epps assured her and gave her an encouraging smile, then glanced around and his face turned dark. "Wait… where are Sam and Carly?"

"I don't know, man." his friend answered.

"I give you one thing to do! One thing! And you drop the ball on that?" Epps yelled and threw up his hands with impatience. "Fine, let's find them, before they get killed."

They made their way through the city, getting closer to the building where the pillars were installed, glowing blue and red. When they reached the river bank they found all the bridges raised, to there was no possibility to cross the river.

Then Felice' heard the faint sound of gunfire, approaching them. She raised her rifle and exchanged a look with Epps. He indicated her and the others to take cover. Hidden behind a car, Felice watched a few Decepticon planes taking down some F-22 and she was glad to be on the ground than in the air this time. Then she focused on the people approaching them. Next to her, she saw Epps peering around the car; then he eased and broke his cover and approached the men.

"Lennox!" he yelled, a smile on his face.

"Epps? Epps! Man, what are you doing here?"

Felice broke cover as well and saw her friend shaking hands with a tall man in a black combat uniform. Sam and Carly were right behind him.

"… we can't get across to that building." she heard Epps saying and realized that she got completely sidetracked from their life threatening situation by this stranger her friend was talking to. Whoever this guy was, she could not help herself thinking that he had the deepest bluest eyes she'd ever seen. But she had no time to pursue her thoughts and this wasn't the right place either. Now, she watched her friends and Lennox team exchanging friendly nods. Some of them must have worked together before. NEST as a part of USAF Special Ops unit obviously contained only very few people.

Meanwhile, they had made their way to one of the raised bridges, discussing options to get to the other side.

"Maybe we can hack into the bridge's computer and get it down." Felice suggested after watching Epps and Lennox examining possible ways to cross the river.

Lennox turned around and scrutinizing her from head to toe. By the look in his eyes, Felice instantly knew that he wasn't pleased to see her.

"Dear, if we need a medic, we'll call you. Now let us do our work."

Felice tightened the grip on her rifle and raised her chin. "Do I look like a medic, _buddy_?"

Epps stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Felice, this is Colonel William Lennox. He's the leader of NEST. Will, Lieutenant Felice Manning."

Felice cursed her loose tongue, but she didn't break the eye contact she and Lennox had since she'd spoken up. Just because he had a higher rank than her didn't mean that he could treat her like this. She'd watched many male soldiers to make this mistake and she was not the one to take the shit from anybody. Surprised, she watched a sheepish smile making his expression ease.

"My apologies, ma'am. I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright." Felice said and with the momentarily anger about his comment gone she couldn't help herself thinking that he had quite a beautiful voice; deep and smooth.

"So do you think you can hack into the bridge?" he asked her.

Felice shrugged. "At least we can try, right?"

Lennox nodded and as they were about to enter the small building where the computer must have been, the bridge turned down.

"Someone's watching us!" Epps yelled and before any of them could exchange a word, they made their way into the city.

While Lennox and his team lead the group, Felice kept watching their back. Moving through the empty streets, hiding when Deceptions crossed their way Felice had the chance to take a closer look at the leader of NEST. Lennox was obviously a handsome man; tall, well-toned, blue eyes and his fearless behavior when being in charge made him quite attractive. When an extraordinary big group of Decepticons crossed their way, they decided to take cover in an empty warehouse to wait for the Autobots for backup.

Waiting for their allies, Lennox took the opportunity to talk to Felice. He still felt bad about their first chat where he'd offended her. He'd observed several times her for the past thirty minutes when they made their way through the streets and there was no doubt that she was trained for combat situations. She was definitely capable of taking care of herself, but a part of him wanted to protect her. He was quite confused about this feeling, but he pinned it on the fact that normally only male soldiers fought against the Decepticons.

Now, he watched her talking to Epps, laughing about something he'd said to her. She was undoubtedly an attractive woman. Slender but still athletic, long blond hair, the strong but still feminine way she moved and her eyes were neither blue nor green and looked warm but wakeful at the same time. Realizing that he was staring in her direction far too long, Will pulled himself together. His was not the time to get sidetracked by a woman just because she was able to handle a gun. But he knew that he owed her an apology. So he strolled over to her.

Felice was about to check her rifle, when he approached her. She was about to put in a new ammo clip when she sensed someone's presence next to her. When she looked up, she was surprised to see Lennox sitting down next to her leaning his back against the cold wall.

"So, NAVY, huh, Lieutenant?" he asked turning to her.

Felice smiled and nodded. "Almost ten years. And it's Felice."

"Will." replied reciprocating her smile. "Naval Intelligence?" he guessed.

"Medic, NI. Just because I am a woman and know how to hack into a computer?" she smirked, leaving Lennox speechless for a moment. "I am a pilot, stationed at the U.S.S. Carl Vinson." she continued a little proud. She was one of the few female F-18 pilots in the NAVY.

"That's indeed… surprising." he replied. "And how did you get into this?"

He made a hand gesture including the whole room; he obviously meant their current situation.

"Epps is a friend of mine. When the spacecraft of the Autobots exploded he decided to help Sam to free Carly and I volunteered to help him." she shrugged.

"That's brave." Lennox said honestly. "But keep in mind that these are no normal enemies. We can't kill them that easily."

Now, it was on Felice to be surprised by to see not only admiration, but also fear in his eyes. She smiled silently and for a moment enjoyed the feeling that he seemed to care about her.

"Yeah, I'm glad that I'm not in my Hornet today." she replied with half a grin on her face which left Lennox stunning about her. How was it possible that she was involved in a Decepticon fight for the first time and on a day like this and she showed no sign of fear, but still was able to joke around?

Before either of them could say a word, the sound of a truck approaching the building made them return to their task. They raised and Felice was about to take her rifle; her arm was outstretched, being in the middle of reaching for it; Lennox took hold of her slightly.

"Hey Felice?"

She looked up when she heard the changed tone in his voice. "Huh?"

"Take care."

"Yeah… I will." she breathed, confused about the caring gesture.

Before she could say anything else, he was gone, yet shouting instructions to his team. Felice tensed and took her position in Epps's team.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I forgot to mention that Lennox is not married in this story and doesn't have a daughter. **

**So here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

The next hour, Felice found herself fighting against giant robots, watching Lennox and his men attack the enemy by jumping out of a skyscraper with their parachutes and taking them out one by one. While the NEST soldiers did everything in their power to defeat the enemy, Felice stayed with Epps and his friends. Seeing the Black Ops soldiers in operations and their advanced weapons and tactics when fighting against the 'Cons, she instantly knew that she wouldn't be of much use engaging the combat with her ordinary rifle. So she followed Epps into a building to provide ground support for Lennox' team. After taking down another group of Decepticons and freeing some of the captured Autobots, they ran to the Trump Tower to destroy the control pillar.

Making their way through the streets they had to face a lot of resistance. A loud scream to her right made Felice turn, just to see a man being hit by something and falling to the ground. Felice didn't hesitate and ran to him to help him. From the corner of her eye she saw Lennox and his team, who must have caught up with them, stop.

"Go! I'll take care of him!" she urged them, wasting no time to examine the men's injuries. Epps nodded and followed the NEST soldiers while Felice knelt down, gently helping the soldier into a sitting position. His face was bruised and his shoulder seemed to be injured, but not badly.

"Can't believe you stayed…" He said, groaning with pain as he tried to move his arm.

"Sure thing. Can you walk?" she smiled and helped him to get up.

"I'm good to go, ma'am." He replied and got onto his feet and they headed to the direction where the others had just vanished.

They were just about to peer around the next corner when someone opened fire at them. They took cover and the other soldier indicated her that he would provide cover fire so that Felice could take her chance to take out whoever was attacking them so they could move on. He nodded and rounded the corner opening fire at the enemy. Felice was just about to follow him when she was pushed back by a shock wave; feeling a hot breeze on her face.

Cautiously she peered around to corner to the place where the soldier must have taken cover. But the space was empty except for a small heap of fuming ash. The Decepticon must have fired some of these guns she'd seen earlier this day. Staring to the remains of the fellow soldier she rather sensed than saw a movement close to her side. Her instincts took charge of her body and she ran for cover. Behind her she could hear the metallic footsteps of yet another hostile robot and a gun being loaded.

"Stop running you little creature! You are going to die anyway!" the deep rumbling voice of the Decepticon echoed through the street.

Giving up wasn't an option for Felice. So she increased her speed, her hands clutched tightly around her rifle ready to defend herself any moment. But before she found a place to take cover and fight back, she felt the blast of a second shockwave throwing her through the air. The next moment she was lying down on the hot dusty street. Slowly, Felice raised her head and tried to move. Everything seemed to be alright- for now. But her ears where ringing from the loud bang of the 'Cons weapon and dizziness clouded her perception.

Carefully, she got up and her feet took her to a bridge near the river where she could see the Autobots and NEST fighting against the Decepticons.

Her vision cleared with every step. She could see some of the soldiers she'd met earlier fighting close by and when she was close enough to engage into the fight, she raised her rifle just to bit back a scream. When she looked down at her arm, she found the uniform soaked wet with blood. She pulled up the sleeve just to see a deep cut in her arm. She felt her knees go weak and cold sweat breaking over her body. This was definitely more than she was trained for as a pilot! She raised her hand to wipe away the sweat from her forehead but when she looked at her palm she found as red as her uniform.

The deafening noise of the fight nearby had vanished but Felice wasn't sure whether it had really ended or whether she was losing her senses again. She gazed upwards, seeing all Decepticons soaked into the sky by a blue ray of light. From one second another they were gone, leaving the city back in silence.

_It's over. We've won… _she thought and by the moment she realized that there was no threat anymore, she gathered all her power and continued her way to the others. When she reached the bridge, her legs felt numb and her head was spinning again.

From the distance she could see Epps and Will walking towards to Autobots and another group of soldiers including some Epps' and her friends. Everyone was cheering in relief, that they'd won the battle. Now, with help in close range, Felice felt how the adrenaline was vanishing and the pain coming back. She looked at her arm, the wound was still bleeding.

_The cut isn't that deep that I am loosing that much blood. There must be something else_, she wondered now gazing down at her body. She tried to turn so that she could examine her back and nearly lost consciousness, because a sharp piece of metal was stuck deeply in her shoulder. She hadn't noticed it with all the adrenaline rushing through her body.

_Well let's hope that they find me in time_, she thought only fifty feet from Epps and Lennox who'd turned their back to her, when she felt her senses finally fade away.

The clanking sound of something metallic hitting the ground made Lennox turn around and by the second he recognized the soldier whose face was covered with blood, his heart sank. As in slow-motion he saw Felice sinking to her knees, her eyes locked with his; begging for help. Then she fell to the side, lying on the ground motionless.

"Felice! Jesus… get the EMTs over here!" he hollered.

He ran to her, falling on his knees. While checking for her pulse his mind was racing. How the hell had she been injured and when? It seemed to him that she'd been gone just for a few minutes to help the wounded solider.

His yells made Felice regain consciousness. She wailed as she tried to move.

"Is it over?" she mumbled.

"It's over. Don't worry." Will replied shifting her into a sideways position to examine her shoulder.

Now Epps' face appeared in her field of view.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Some Decepticon…"

Again she felt her senses fade away.

"Felice, stay with me!"

As she heard Will's alarming voice, she smiled faintly.

"Stop yelling at me, please." she mumbled then she saw the EMTs reaching her and closed her eyes. She was safe. For now…


	4. Chapter 4

It had taken hours to ship all the soldiers back to Washington. While the Autobots were securing the bodies of the dead Decepticons, NEST had been ordered straight back to their headquarters for a briefing with the head of the DoD and some other high ranking military personnel.

The city of Chicago was a mess including damaged and overcrowded hospitals and it had cost Epps a few favors to get Felice into military emergency care instead of being treated in a normal hospital. After her injuries had been treated and she was deemed fit for transport she was brought to one of the Air Forces aircrafts to be transferred to Washington with Epps and his friends. Lennox had called his fellow team mate to inform him that they had to be debriefed after the latest events.

After numerous phone conferences with the NSA and DoD, Lennox finally had the time change into some clean clothes and sit down for a few minutes. The past few days had been really exhausting.

Back in his office at NESTs headquarters he watched the Autobots roll into the hangar and transforming into their Cybertronian forms. While Optimus was talking to some soldiers, Ratchet went to Bee and examined him for possible injuries he might have suffered after his jump into the pillar. Lennox watched their interaction for a while. Then his glance caught Epps and his friends who were about to leave. By the sight of his former partner his thoughts went to Felice. His superiors had kept him that busy he had not time to worry about her. Now, he wondered whether she was okay and where the medics had taken her. He got up and headed downstairs to Epps to ask him about Felice condition. Epps was still talking to some of his old team members when the Colonel approached him.

"Hey Epps, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

"Sure, man." Epps replied and followed to his friend. While being in Chicago they had no time to talk about how their lives went on after Epps had left NEST. But seeing his former team leader, Epps could tell that Will Lennox still wasn't tired of taking down hostile alien forces.

"Guess we did it again, huh?" Epps smirked. When he saw Lennox' questioning glance he added: "Saving the world."

Lennox reciprocated his smirk.

"Yeah. You should really consider returning to NEST. You still have the balls."

"Yeah, maybe." Epps replied wearily. When he'd left the team he was doing it to be close to his home and family, but after the last couple of days it had come to the realization that the earth was still a target for alien attacks and that only few people were able to defend this precious planet. He knew that he had to think it over, but after the latest events he might consider rejoining the team.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah… I was just wondering how your friend is doing? Is she alright?"

"Felice? She's doing fine, relatively speaking. Some minor injuries, but she had lost a lot of blood. I called in a few favors to get her transferred to DC since we have to stay for the debriefing and everything."

Lennox nodded. This was good news.

"Why are you asking?" Epps asked curiously. The exchange between his former team leader and his friend in the warehouse early hadn't gone unnoticed by him. While he had expected Felice to get herself into more trouble with her smart mouth, he had been surprised to see Lennox sitting down and talking to her for a while. Silently, he wondered what they'd spoken about. His friend's voice brought him back into reality.

"Just wondering." Lennox muttered and ruffled through his military short hair yet suppressing a yawn.

"Looks like you need some rest." Epps said stretching his neck and looking around in the hangar. Most of the soldiers had gone off to other duties or left the base.

"Yeah. Feels like an eternity that I slept." Lennox grimaced. "You and your guys can stay at the bunks down the hall. 'That alright for you?"

"Sure, man. Guess I see you later in the mess?"

"No. I have some other things to take care of." Lennox answered. "I see you in the morning."

Epps nodded his agreement and glanced after his friend who went up to his office. Then he was called away by some of his friends and followed them to their bunks.

Back in his office, Lennox went straight back to work. He had to file a lot of action reports and the sooner he got started the sooner he would get the much needed sleep neither of them had gotten in the past couple of days.

So he fired up his computer and started with the mission in Chernobyl. But he wasn't able to focus on the report. Instead his thoughts kept wandering back to the past hours in Chicago and to one person in particular. Even though Epps had told him that Felice was getting better he felt the strong urge to see for himself. He glanced to his action reports and scolded himself for not getting focused on the remaining work. She was a fighter pilot, she knew the risk of being injured in combat and he had no time to worry about one soldier when hundreds of people had been killed in the past days. But this female soldier stuck out to him.

Despite she'd never been in a fight with Decepticons, she didn't hesitate a second when it came to the battle. He'd watched her courage and fearlessness out there and he couldn't help himself admiring her for that.

He let out an exasperated sigh. There was no way he would finish up his reports today. So instead he reached for his phone to find out where the medics had taken Felice. Half an hour and a couple of calls later, he left the NEST headquarters to see Felice in the hospital.

Asking a nurse for her room, he now slowly pushed the door open and was shocked about the condition she was in. Her face was pale and she had a nasty scar on her forehead. She had gazes all over her hands and forearms which were lying on the white blanket and her left arm and shoulder were bandaged. She looked so thin and fragile. He approached her slowly unsure what to do.

Somehow she sensed his presence and stirred when he closed the door silently behind himself.

She didn't know how long she'd been out but when her senses returned she found herself lying in a comfortable bed. She could make out the faint rhythmic sound of a heart monitor and the scent of disinfectant and bleach. She moved her fingers and felt some fabric under her fingertips. No doubt, she was in the hospital which meant that she'd survived. Slowly, the memories of the past hours came back to her mind. She opened her eyes just to see Lennox standing by the door. She'd expected Epps to be with her when she woke up so she was surprised to see the leader of NEST instead.

"You are awake."

She turned to face Will standing a little lost in the doorframe. Now, he approached her and sat down next to her bed.

"What an unexpected visitor." she said with a faint smile, then winced when she tried to get herself into a sitting position.

"How are you holding up?"

"Pretty well, I guess."

She glanced at her shoulder, just to find it bandaged; then raised her hand to her forehead, which was hurting a lot.

"The doctor said that I was lucky. The metal in my shoulder didn't damage any artery or something. But I have to stay out of duty for at least a month."

"Take your time to recover. I won't even think how things might have ended when you had been in a jet today." he replied, thinking about a number of casualties he'd just read a few hours ago. Five F-22 were shot down and at least a dozen other aircrafts.

"Right. Otherwise I won't have you sitting at my bed." she smirked then got serious. "Is it really over, Will? Are they gone?"

Lennox sighed. "At least for now, but we'll never know. The Autobots will have a closer look at this, but even in the past years when no one had noticed their presence there were at least a dozen attacks all over the world."

Felice didn't know what to say. Even though she was in the NAVY she hadn't had a clue that there was an alien species constantly attacking the humans. Even though she knew from Epps that the Autobots where real, some of her friends thought that all this was just an urban legend. She couldn't have imagined the danger and the amount of destruction that an alien war would bring to the earth. But now that she'd seen and felt it for herself she had to admit that she was quite shaken up by the past events. Somehow, Will must have noticed her dark thoughts.

"I am sorry what happened to you today."

Looking into his face she was a little surprised to find an expression indicating his deep regret. But she didn't want him to worry about her.

"It's not your fault. I guess I am still a rookie when it comes to the Decepticon fights." she said with half a grin on her face.

Lennox shot her a surprised glance. How was it possible that she was able to make fun of her situation when she'd been on the verge of dying only hours ago? For the first time in what seemed years the Colonel was lost for words. In his line of work and especially as the head of an elite task force there was not much space for a private life. Long hours at base alternated with being deployed all over the world so the chances of meeting somebody were pretty slim. Some of his fellow team mates were married, but he could tell that it was a constant torturous maneuvering to make a relationship like this work.

Looking at his counterpart he was surprised about the direction his thoughts had taken.

"How about I tell you some of our combat techniques? Let's say, Friday, 8:00 pm?" he heard himself asking before he could stop himself.

Felice hesitated, not sure what to think about this sudden change of their conversation. Was he really asking her out after she'd just got out of a giant robo-deathmatch? Since their first encounter she knew that Will Lennox was a handsome man, but seeing him in private? A soldier; a Black Ops soldier to be more specific. She had always kept her distance when some fellow soldiers had taken an attempt to ask her out. She'd worked hard for her dream: being fighter pilot. She'd faced a lot of resistance while building up her reputation and she was very careful not to destroy it by being just a good hook-up for some random soldier. But even though she had her rules when it came to dating enlisted men, she had to admit that she was curious. Why hadn't she met Lennox before when he had been on the same team with Epps? And she enjoyed playing with the fire.

"So that's how you reimburse female soldiers for their injuries?" she teased him.

"Not all of them." he smirked.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she laughed, but she didn't get an answer. The ringing of his phone saved him.

"Lennox… alright, I am on my way." he raised and with a last smile he said: "Friday, 8:00 pm, Trio Restaurant. Don't be late."

And then he was gone. Felice let out a heavy sigh and leaned back into the pillows. _I'm having a date with the head of NEST. Jesus, what am I getting myself into?_


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Finally! Here's the new chapter! Enjoy!**

A few days later, Felice was allowed to leave the hospital. She still was a little unsteady on her feet, but she started to feel bored and was glad that she was back with Epps and his friends. While she'd been recovering, Epps was granted to stay a few days in Washington to catch up with his friends at NEST. He had arranged for Felice to stay at the same hotel with him until she was fit for their ride home. The former NEST Tech Sergeant picked her up for lunch. Of course they were chatting about the events of the past days. While they were eating the subject of their conversation somehow turned to Lennox. Felice didn't know how, but Epps knew about his visit at the hospital. Sighing she gave in to his questions told him about her forthcoming date with Lennox.

"Man, what have you done with Lennox? He's totally hooked on you!"

"Yeah sure, man." Felice replied rolling her eyes. She knew that Epps would be overdramatizing the whole thing, but this was beyond crazy.

"C'mon Felice. Why else would be visit you at the hospital?"

"Because I was injured right in front of him and I am a friend of yours."

"Think what you wanna think, honey. But I can tell you one thing: no one has come so close to our Colonel in such a short time."

"So? What happened?" Felice started, but Epps remained silent.

"You'll see. I am staying in town for a couple of days, visiting some NEST guys. So if you need a place to crash…"

"No, but thanks. I'll stay at the hotel." She waved the keys Epps had handed her this morning. "If Uncle Sam pays I don't say no." she grinned.

"But if you need some shopping advisor…"

"Thanks, Robert. I am fine." she laughed and they changed the subject when their deserts were served. But Epps had a point. All her clothes were back home in Huntsville.

_Well, sounds like I am going shopping._

Three days and a hefty credit card billing later, Felice waited in front of her hotel for a cab to take her to her date with Will Lennox. She wasn't the kind of girl who was running around hysterically searching for the right outfit, but since her conversation with Epps in the restaurant his words didn't leave her mind and made her feel rather nervous about of forthcoming date. The words of her friend stayed with her during the whole ride to the restaurant, but when she stepped out of the cab and saw the head of NEST standing in front of the restaurant, all of sudden she relaxed. She paid the driver and headed to him.

Lennox couldn't help but sigh with relief as he saw her. She was looking a lot healthier and stronger than a few days ago in the hospital. He'd expected her arm to be in a sling to take the load off her injured shoulder, but she wasn't wearing one. Her long, blond hair was held back by a Ray Ban and concealed the now faint injury on her forehead. For the first time since Lennox had met her, she wasn't wearing her uniform, but jeans, a white t-shirt and a feminine leather jacket.

"You made it." he smiled as he welcomed her.

"Of course." she smiled back and followed him into the restaurant.

The next hours they spend talking about their mutual friend Epps, the Navy and a lot more things. Felice had to admit that Will was a very handsome man, and while he was talking she found herself feeling very comfortable in his presence. He was a lot like most men who'd served and she'd seen him in the battle, but seeing him in private was very nice as well. He certainly had qualities that were admired by others; some that made him even the more attractive…

She shook her head to break up the train of thoughts that was going around in her head.

"Wanna take a walk?" his voice startled her. She hadn't seen him getting up already.

"Sure." she smiled and got up.

For a while they walked in silence. Then she caught him glancing at her.

"What is it?" she asked a little bewildered.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. I just cannot believe you were wearing full protective gear and fighting against some Decepticons just four days ago. I mean look at you."

"Thanks." she smiled sheepishly. "It's getting late. And Epps is picking me up early tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Will turned towards her. "And I thought I had already recruited a new team member." he teased her.

"Keep on dreamin'. I love my job." she laughed, but she felt that he was somehow serious about his last words. But before she could say something else, he spoke up.

"I'll give you a ride to your hotel."

"That would be nice." she nodded and they went to his car. When they arrived at her hotel, Will stepped out of the car and walked with her to the entrance.

"That was a great evening. Thanks a lot, Will."

He smiled to her, but again he didn't know what to say. Honestly, he didn't want this evening to end. It had been a long time since he'd opened up to a person he'd known for such a short time. Talking to Felice about his work and life had been easy and … nice. By now he realized how much he'd missed talking to people outside his line of work. Even though Felice was a soldier as well he had enjoyed her presence and humor and her kind of playful manner.

_Shut it, Lennox!_ He scolded himself. _Just because the world had almost been turned into a big play ball of slaves for the 'Cons, you don't have to get all soft on her._ _She'll be gone tomorrow and we both will go on with our lives_.

The changed tone in her voice brought him back to reality.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"I was just thinking." he replied.

"About what?"

"About you leaving me here." Again the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. And by the look in her eyes he could tell that they hadn't appeared as neutral as he hoped they would have sounded.

"Will, as soon as you've finished your work in Washington do me a favor and get some leave." she urged him; smiling. "Come to Huntsville. I mean it's not a big city, but you could see Epps and your old team mates and…"

"And?" he asked locking eyes with her.

"And me." she smiled sheepishly.

"That sounds like a plan." he replied and his gaze dropped on her lips. Just when she thought that he was about to kiss her, her phone rang. She bit back a curse when she saw who was calling her.

"Epps, what do you want?" she grunted.

"_Just a little recon on your date. That was just pretty close."_

Her head flew upwards to the hotel windows. Behind the curtains of one of the upper windows she could see a person matching Epps' statue.

"I am going to kill you with my bare hands." she whispered and blushed as her eyes met Will's who shot her a questioning glance.

"_Just keeping up the tension, baby girl. Sweet dreams. I see you tomorrow._"

The line went dead and it took Felice a lot to remain calm.

"Epps?"

Felice nodded. "He's watching us."

"Then we better make it worth it. What do you think?"

She looked up when she heard the challenging tone in his deep smooth voice. His eyes were sparkling in cockiness when he stepped towards her. Felice could almost feel his body heat. Then she felt his strong hands on her waist pulling her close and his soft lips on hers as he kissed her. Felice closed her eyes, wanting to get lost in the moment. The kiss became more passionate and when he released her they were both breathing hard.

Will rested his deep blue eyes on hers and smiled.

"I just…"

She chuckled.

"Yeah, me too…"

Then she tensed and was about to bring a little space between them, but Will stopped her, wrapping her up in his arms.

"You are not going to get of that easily." he whispered. He knew that he was testing boundaries here. Her words about not dating enlisted men were still loud and clear in his head.

"I know." she replied. "But for tonight that's all you're gonna get."

"Shame shame." he smirked and finally released her.

"Good night, Will. I hope we will meet again." Felice said with a genuine smile.

"I just hope that it won't be long until I will see you again."

Felice nodded, then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, well aware of the fact, that Epps was still watching them. Before he could react, she turned around and headed towards the hotel entrance.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update. I had a lot of work to do. But here'S the new chapter! :)**

Will didn't manage to come to visit Felice. He called for telling her how sorry he was about it. Felice, of course, was sad, but she knew that being in the military was a huge commitment. She and Will chose this life and so she understood him. A few days later, she returned to the U.S.S. Carl Vinson.

She did her flight routine as ever and due to the latest alien confrontation in Chicago where she'd met Will for the first time, she and her squadron mates had lots of work to do. The president had ordered them to watch over the air space of the entire Middle East.

It was late that evening and an eight hours sortie followed by a night carrier landing left her starving and tired when she returned to her bunk. Just when she'd closed the door to call it a night, someone knocked and ordered her to the telephone.

"Who'd calling?" she asked with a bewildered look at the young soldier who'd informed her about the call.

"I don't know, Ma'am." he responded courtly and turned to leave.

Felice sighed, desperately wanting to go to bed, but she was curious who was calling her and why. So she went to the phone and took the call.

"Felice Manning."

_"Hey, Lieutenant."_

Felice' heart skipped a beat when she recognized the male voice at the other end of the line.

"Will! Gosh, I didn't expect you to call me. How are you?"

_"I'm fine."_

She smiled. It felt so good to hear his voice.

_"I am currently on the way to a mission in Qatar and I thought it would be nice if we could grab a beer when I've finished work here. Sure you have some leave?"_

"Yeah, of course. I think there's a transport scheduled next week. I can get to the mainland then." Then she realized what he'd just told her. "What kind of work exactly, Will?"

She could hear him sigh and her heart dropped. "They are back, aren't they?"

_"Seems to be so. Please don't come to the mainland until I call you and tell you it's safe, okay?"_

Felice smiled, touched that he cared that much about her. "Sure thing. Just be careful."

_"Always." _There was a small pause until Lennox spoke up again_. "Felice?"_

"Huh?"

_"I can't wait to see you again."_

She chuckled and shook her head when her thoughts went back to their date in Washington. "Yeah, me too."

_"Alright, see you then. Take care."_

"You too. Bye."

Felice hung up and took a deep breath. The butterflies in her stomach were wide awake now. She returned to her bunk with a mixture of concern and anticipation. But before she could make plans for their date, for the second time this evening someone knocked on her door.

"Come in."

"Felice, Reigart wants to see us. We have to get to Qatar; ASAP." Chris told her and Felice instantly knew that Will's call and these news weren't a coincident.

Admiral Reigart, Felice' chief in command, had received a call from the Secretary of Defense who ordered her squadron to Qatar, where the first encounter with the Cybertronians had taken place. Reigart explained that they were send because of Felice experience with Decepticons. The young woman thought that it would be the best to keep it secret, that she'd just survived all this because she'd the luck of the devil. Two hours later, 10 F-18 took off from the carrier and flew to their destination, followed by a helicopter with some additional gear. Landed at SOCCENT Air Force Base in Qatar, the squadron was taken to a conference room in a hangar close by.

A man in his late 40's stepped into the room, followed by Epps and some NEST- members Felice remembered being around in Chicago. Will was not among them.

General Morshower introduced himself and his men. When he spoke up and Felice felt her heart sink hearing what their operation was going to be about.

"Gentlemen, you are here because we have reasons to believe that a hidden Decepticon base is about fifty miles east from here. This will be a joint NAVY and Air Force mission due to the fact that our aerial fleet is needed back home. Our NEST- team including soldiers and Autobots will be striking from ground level and we need you for aerial support. I can't promise everybody to get home safely, but this country needs you now."

_You don't know what you are going into, _Felice thought as she heard the consenting yells from the other pilots. But she got no chance to bring up her concerns. She glanced over to her navigator Chris who was obviously thinking the same. She had told him what had happened in Chicago.

"Sergeant Epps will now brief you about the details. Good luck."

He stepped aside and Epps took his place, explaining the mission. After he'd ended his instruction, he strolled over to Felice and Chris, who were just talking with a few men who'd recognized her.

"Felice! What are you doing here?"

"Guess, someone's back in the game." she smirked; then introduced her navigator, who was standing next to her. "Epps, this is Lt. Chris Edwards. Chris, this is Sergeant Robert Epps."

They shook hands. They chatted for a while and finally Felice had the chance to speak to Epps in private

"Is he here?" She obviously meant Will.

"He's here, but I don't think that he knows that you are here as well."

"Okay, keep it like that. We have to focus."

He nodded his affirmative answer. A man called Epps' name, telling him that he was needed elsewhere. Epps nodded and turned to Felice one last time.

"Alright then. Take care." he said with a small smile. Felice reciprocated it.

"Yeah, you too."

They made their way to their accommodations and changed their uniform for their flight overalls. They were told to leave in half an hour. While Chris was going through the maps, Felice tried to calm down. Now, she had been put into the situation she was afraid of. She didn't know how to face Will and she didn't like the fact that they were fighting against the Decepticons again, but this time she would be in the air while he would be fighting at the ground. The image of the jets been taken down by the Decepticons not too long ago flashed through her mind, but she whipped away the thought and tried to focus.

"I need some fresh air." she said and got up. "See you outside."

"A'ight." Chris replied and looked at his map again. Felice took her gear and left the room. She didn't ask for directions. When she had just reached to exit, all of a sudden a door opened and she found herself right in front of the man she'd avoided to meet all day: Will Lennox.

"Felice! What are you doing here?" He looked at her in astonishment.

"Working." she shrugged, but her heart was racing. "My squadron was sent here. We are supposed to be your backup."

It wouldn't have made any sense to lie to him anyway. He opened his mouth, but he didn't say a word. Then, he slightly took her arm and pulled her into the room he was just about to leave.

"But it's too dangerous!" he said firmly.

Felice was surprised as she caught his concerned look. But there was something else she couldn't tell first and then it hit her. Fear; he was afraid. She silently smiled.

_He really seems to care about me. But what good would it do, if he starts to protect me now?_

"Oh come on, don't tell me about dangerous situations!" she exclaimed.

"I am going to revoke this order…" he turned around reaching for the phone standing on a desk, but she stopped him.

"You will not do this!"

"Oh, you bet I am. I won't put you into harm's way again."

"You put yourself into harm's way." she replied trying to keep her voice calm. "Will, let's don't argue. Everything will be alright. I promise. I can handle it. It's not my first time being involved in a dogfight."

The soft tone in her voice made him turn towards her.

"But we have to focus now. Or either you or me are getting hurt." she adjured him.

Before he could reply the door flew open and Epps came in. He stopped as he saw his friend that close to the female soldier, but he didn't say anything, just smiled for a second.

"We have to go, Lennox. Black Hawks are waiting for us."

He left the room, so Felice and Will had a few more seconds in private. Tenderly, he touched her cheek.

"Be careful." he murmured and kissed her long on the forehead.

"You too." she whispered back, too confused about his caring gesture.

Then he pulled himself apart and left the room.

Felice sat down for a moment to collect her thoughts. Then she took a deep breath and went outside. Chris was already waiting at their F-18. As he saw her tensed expression, he headed towards her.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"It's nothing. Let's move." She climbed into the cockpit and put on her mask. While she checked her systems, she saw Will and Epps running to a helicopter and she hoped that would return safely.

"This is NEST. Requesting aerial support. Three targets."

It felt like an eternity until the alarm call came. Felice levered the throttle and they took off.

A few minutes later, when they reached their destination, she felt her heart come to a standstill as they flew over the scene that was just happening. Huge explosions were coming up and at least five big Decepticons were fighting against the Autobots Optimus, Jolt, Rachet and the two Racars. Felice prayed that Will would get out there alive.

It had turned out that the Decepticons had set and EMP, so Felice and the other pilots had their difficulties to establish radio contact with the ground team. Additionally, four of the six Hornets who were with her had been shot down as soon as they reached the battle zone.

"Spur, confirming targets. ETA, to air strike: two minutes." Felice replied and was relieved that it had been Epps who'd just spoken to her.

"Roger. Attack direction: south. Ground team east of orange smoke. Take the 105'. Bring the rain."

"Copy that."

Felice put the safety off her trigger.

"Longhorn, do you confirm marked targets?"

"Longhorn, targets confirmed. Ready when you are."

Felice took a deep breath as she pushed the button.

Will and Epps did their best not to get killed by all the debris that was flying around. After Epps had marshaled the F-18, they took cover behind a wall.

"Was it her?" Will gasped.

"Yeah. Four are down; one ran out of ammo and is returning to the base. This thing has just turned from mission impossible to mission freakin' insanity for her!" Epps shouted.

Will looked upwards. The F-18 was just about to come back. He tagged the Decepticon for the air strike, pointing his laser at him. He turned his back to them; a transformed helicopter just like the first time as he'd fought against them. Where his right hand was supposed to be, there were the rotor blades, spinning fast. On his left hand, he held a giant shield.

Then came the air strike. It was a deafening noise when the missiles hit their targets. Will felt the shock wave pushing sand into his face. Two Decepticons were destroyed immediately, but the one the closest to Will and Epps somehow managed to raise his shield and parried one missile before being killed by the other.

They broke cover as soon as the air strike was over, but what they saw was anything but good. The Decepticon had managed to parry the missile in a way that it was now targeting the jet. They gazed upwards seeing the missile approaching the aircraft.

"Shit! We've been targeted!" Chris hollered.

Felice pulled the stick towards her and was pressed into her seat as they rushed upwards.

"Can you see it?" she shouted, now flying a sharp right-hand bend.

"No! Wait, it's right behind us! Felice, you have to do something!"

"Yeah, man. I know!" she yelled back.

She was doing her best not getting shot down again. They flew towards the ground, than she tried to get rid of the missile by flying very close to the nearby mountains. She turned and bore down to the dead Decepticons. She hoped that the heat of the fire which was burning there would distract it. But her attempt failed.

"Drop the gas tanks!" Chris shouted.

"Copy that!"

Felice pushed the button for the gas tank retainers. They saw them hit the sand. Felice turned again and fired at them. A huge explosion erupted followed by a second explosion. The missile had flown directly into the fire ball.

"Geez, what a bang!" Chris shouted and Felice could not help herself laugh out loud.

"Yeah! Let's get home."

Felice and Chris were hailed as heroes as the stepped of their jet. Before they even reached the ground, they were surrounded by many soldiers who carried them shoulder high back to the hangar. They had defeated the enemy but saved the lives of many NEST soldiers as well as civilians. Felice could not help herself beaming as she finally was put back to the ground. She stepped over to Chris and embraced him. They hold each other for a second. Both knew what the other one was thinking. The last time they had been followed by a missile they hadn't been so lucky.

"You are a kick-ass pilot, Felice." Chris said and released her.

"And you are a kick-ass RIO, Edwards." she smirked then looked around. Her eyes rested on Will, yet armed and filthy, gazing back at her, and her eyes lingered there for several moments as he smiled to her.

Somehow, she managed to get out of the party the soldiers had started after their well- accomplished mission. When she got up, she caught Will's eyes lying on her and they didn't need a word to say what was led to be unsaid. As soon as she'd left the room, Will got up as well and followed her.

She waited for him in his office. He walked right to her and embraced her protectively. Running his fingers through her hair, he inhaled her scent and thanked heavens above for her safe return.

"Promise me, that you will never put yourself in danger again." he whispered placing his chin on her head. For a moment they remained in this position before Felice moved.

"I can't and you know that." she replied, looking up to him. "But don't argue with me right now."  
He pulled her close and kissed her. He did it slowly, because he wanted to feel, to see every detail of her. He'd almost lost her and now he was determined to hold her and to never let her go.


	7. Chapter 7

_A few weeks later on the U.S.S. Carl Vinson…_

After their mission in Qatar Felice and her squadron returned to the boat. While she had the chance to say goodbye to Epps and some of his NEST friends, Will Lennox was nowhere to be seen. Felice was quite confused about this fact. The day after the celebration and their secret meeting in his office she'd received a text that left her smiling for the rest of the day so his absence so didn't match his words. But she had no time to look for him, because they had to return to the carrier.

The days went on without any news from the handsome Colonel and Felice was too busy to think about their relationship or whatever they had or hadn't. After a long sortie, she was just about to go to her captain, because he had something to discuss with her, when someone called her name.

"Lieutenant, may I have a word with you?"

Felice turned around, smiling. Chris was approaching her. She'd flown with a nugget RIO and couldn't wait to tell her partner about it. But as he had reached her, Felice caught the eye of her navigator. But even she was happy to see him she wasn't amazed about his tone.

"What?" she said, reluctant to encourage her friends' interrogation.

"So, spill. Tell me everything". Chris was far too excited.

Felice tried to dismiss him.

"There's nothing to tell".

"Aw Felice, don't do this to me!" Felice began walking away, forcing Edwards to jog in order to keep up.

"I'm serious." Felice assured. But Chris knew better.

"That's not what I heard."

Felice stopped dead in her tracks.

"And what exactly did you hear, mister?"

Chris gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh, nothing really. Just, that you and some handsome NEST- member got very close to each other after our little party in Qatar."

Felice' face flushed bright red as she put a hand to Chris' face.

"Shhhhh."

Chris couldn't help but laugh.

"I told you to keep quiet. I don't need anything getting to Reigart."

Chris was amazed.

"Oh my gosh. You're really worried about our captain!"

Felice sighed.

"Man, I don't need this shit. I got work to do." She looked at her watch. "I'm already late for my meeting with him."

She was off again, but she heard Chris call out one last time before he stepped into the elevator.

"You can run, girl, but you can't hide."

While she continued her walk to her captain, Felice called herself a fool.

_Yeah, what's wrong about me being with another soldier? Lennox is not even on this ship! _

She hadn't yet finished her thoughts, as she walked round the next corner and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw a tall man waiting in front of her captain's bureau. As he heard someone approaching him he turned into her direction.

"Will?" she asked as she wasn't quite believing what she was seeing. "Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?"

"Felice…" he started, but then the door in front of them was opened and they were asked to come in.

Felice thoughts were spinning. She nearly even forgot to salute to her captain. He ordered them to take a seat; then he spoke up.

"Lt. Manning, you surely remember Colonel Lennox. After you and your squadron returned from Qatar, he called me and told me about your brave actions. You have volunteered to fight with his team in Chicago even though you weren't familiar with the NEST combat techniques. And you supported the air strike in Qatar in a way only few people would have managed to."

Felice listened and stayed quiet, but she felt an aching knot in her stomach. She looked up as Admiral Reigart continued speaking.

"So he had asked for my permission to put you on his team. He said that a woman in his team would ease stress situations and he told me that your behavior in combat situations was excellent." He sighed, than fixed her with his eyes. "Look, I don't like to lose qualified personnel, but this and your promotion to the rank of a Lieutenant Commander would mean a great career step for you."

Felice sat there for a few seconds. She didn't know what to say. It was Will who spoke next and he was addressing her formally.

"Lt. Manning, I know that it's a tough decision to make. But you would be a real enrichment to my team."

_Oh, I bet I would. Especially for your bed_, Felice thought angrily. How could he dare to face her with fait accompli! She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before answering.

"Gentlemen, it's indeed a tough decision to make. And it would be kind, if you concede me some time for thinking about it. I'll let you know about my decision tomorrow."

She glanced to Reigart.

"If that's all, Sir?"

He nodded his affirmative answer and she got up. Before Will could speak to her again, she was gone. After a few words with Felice' CO he took his leave and made his way to find her. He had quite a good guess where she was. As he reached her bunk, which she was sharing with a female RIO, she was just about to open the door. She heard him coming, but she didn't turn around. Slightly Will touched her arm and turned her so that he could look into her eyes. The expression of disappointment and anger at the same time hit him hard. She cast off his hand.

"What were you thinking, Will?" She glared at him then stepped into her cabin. Will followed her and closed the door. Once alone, she vented her anger.

"Gosh, how did you expect me to decide? Give up the job of my dreams and my friends just for being with you? Isn't that a bit selfish?"

"It is selfish, but I want you to be with me, can't you understand that?" he said; his voice as calm as ever, his eyes searching for hers. As she reciprocated his look the emotions she saw hit her like a wave. It was the same look he'd given her in Qatar. Full with fear, concern and something else she couldn't name. On the spur of the moment Felice closed the gap between them and took his hands.

"Of course I do. But what god is it gonna do, if you put me on your team and we are together? So tell me, did you ask Reigart because of my qualifications or because of what happened in Qatar?" she exclaimed with a challenging glimpse.

"Both."

"Wrong answer."

Will sighed.

"As I told Reigart: you would be an enrichment to my team."

"Then we have to stop it before things go too far." Felice whispered not looking up. She was surprised how much it hurt to say those words. She waited for Will of say something, but he didn't.

"Will, there are two ways. One: I refuse your request and we see how things work out between us. Two: I accept and we quit things before they even start. But I will not be with you and be on your team at the same time. This only causes problems and you know that."

For a long time they remained silent. Then Will spoke up.

"But I can't let you put your life on the line in a jet while fighting against Decepticons! I've seen so many good men and women dying and I don't want you to be the next one."

"I can die anywhere." came the short response from her.

Will's thoughts were spinning. He hadn't expected Felice to be that quick at repartee. But he knew that she was right. They had to separate work and private life. But what did he really want? One thing was sure: he wanted her close by so that he was able to protect her. And everything else… _Well, we'll _see, he thought and tensed locking eyes with her.

"But it would mean a lot to me to have you on my team."

By the look in her eyes he knew that he hadn't convinced her yet.

"I can't promise anything." he continued. "But what I promise you is that I will protect you; no matter what it takes."

Felice looked up when she heard the soft tone in his voice. She managed to give him a little smile. He stepped forward and embraced her. They hold on for a few seconds; then stepped apart.

"Guess, I'll see you in DC." she smirked.

"Call me when you're landing, Commander." Will replied with a wink and left the cabin.


	8. Chapter 8

_Back in Washington DC…_

Felice stepped out of the airport and was about to reach for her phone to call Lennox that she had landed, when a warm deep voice made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Need a lift, Commander?"

Felice turned around and looked into two blue eyes that could only belong to one man.

"That'd be nice, Colonel." she smiled and returned his welcoming embrace.

Lennox knew that he was pressing his luck, but he could not resist placing his chin on her hair while inhaling her scent. He had to admit that he'd missed her.

It had taken two month for the U.S.S. Carl Vinson to finish their cruise and Felice to officially being transferred to NEST. While the newest member of his team had a lot of paperwork to come through for her new job, it had cost Lennox quite a few favors to get Felice into his team. Women weren't allowed in Black Ops units so he had to sell her transfer as a liaison position for the upcoming specialized aerial NEST unit; though he wasn't planning on putting her into an air fight in the near future. But General Morshower had signed his recommendation and was aware that Felice would have to learn the basic NEST operation techniques before going on into a more specialized program. This would buy Lennox some time.

Then he felt her tense and stepping back. He looked at her a little bewildered.

"What is it?"

"Geez, you are my boss now. Hugging is a little inappropriate, don't you think?" she asked and watched him laughing.

"I think our work relationship already started a little different than most. Besides, I am here as a friend not as your CO." He glanced at her bags. "That's not your whole apartment isn't it?"

Felice sighed. "The container is arriving next week. Till then I'll stay in a hotel or something."

"You don't have to, Felice. You can stay at my place." he replied while he took one of her bags and was about to go his car, when Felice stopped him.

"Will… we had an agreement."

"I know."

"Besides, what are the others going to say if they see us arriving at work together? You know how chatty Epps is!"

Again, she watched the Colonel laughing out loud and wondered what the reason for his good mood was.

"Chatty… that indeed pointedly." Then he got serious. "We can make other arrangements if you feel uncomfortable. I can drop in on a friend and you can stay at my place. You really don't need to stay at a hotel, Felice."

Suddenly, Felice felt bad that she'd mistrusted Lennox. She shook her head.

"I am sorry, Will. I didn't mean to offend you. I am just worried about this situation. I mean..." She didn't need to continue. They both were thinking the same.

"Everything will be fine, Felice. You'll see."

But Felice wasn't convinced.

"But what about your team? Won't they question your orders? Will they really see me as a qualified team member?"

"I'll make sure that this won't affect our work, alright? Trust me." he assured her. He'd had quite a long talk about that particular subject with Epps not too long ago. Back then he hadn't been sure whether Epps was his friend and team mate or Felice' quasi big brother who was giving her boyfriend the talk about not messing around with his little sister. It had left him confused, but after thinking it over, he'd understood Felice' concerns and was determined to make her start in DC as easy and comfortable as possible without getting himself or her into trouble.

"I will." she reciprocated his smile and they headed to his apartment.

Felice was surprised to see a very tasteful furnished place. While she took a look around, Will went to the kitchen to get them two beers. He passed her one as he stepped over her outstretched legs and sat down himself on the other end of the couch. She took it thankfully, pulling her legs up, she sat facing him sideways.

"So tell me what I have to expect tomorrow? A bunch of men laughing at me, while I am trying to keep up with them?" she asked very the question which was on her heard since she'd decided to take the new job.

"Each of our new recruits will have to pass our training circuit, including weapons assessment, combat techniques and some other NEST- specific exercises." Will explained and as he caught her insecure glance he added softly: "Hey Felice, you will do fine. I know it."

Felice remained silent and took a sip of her beer. She was not sure whether she'd made the right decision. Being involved in the fights in Chicago and Qatar had left her worrying about not doing enough for the safety of millions of innocent people. While the NAVY had given her the opportunity to make a difference in many people's lives (though they probably wouldn't notice it), the most recent alien attacks made her realize that she wanted to do more… that she wanted to fight this enemy that had the power to kill so many of them that easily. She wanted to step up and take the challenge. She wanted prove herself that she'd decided right.

After they finished their beer, they went to bed. Will had insisted that Felice was sleeping in his bedroom while he moved to the couch.

The next morning, they drove to the NEST headquarters. After Felice had changed her civilian clothes for her new black NEST combat uniform, Will led her through the large warehouse and up a flight of stairs. Felice could not help herself staring down at the large space where the Autobots were parked in their alt-modes. The vastness of the space only emphasized how large the Autobots were in their Cybertronian form. Now, Felice watched them transform and heading towards them; their heads exactly on the same level they were standing now. Optimus, Bumblebee, Ratchet and the other Autobots were gathering around it. One by one welcomed Felice and congratulated her on the new job. Felice silently smiled. It was good to see them all.

Now, the other NEST members were approaching them as well. When everyone had arrived, Lennox took her to a man with short blond hair.

"Lieutenant Commander Felice Manning, this is Major Raymond Jones. He's your training officer."

Felice stepped forward and they shook hands.

"Welcome onboard, Ma'am. Let's get you ready for NEST." he said kindly.

"Thanks." Felice nodded and looked to Lennox. He gave her one last encouraging smile then he left her with her new team. Jones indicated her to follow her and introduced her to the other men.

"Guys, this is Lieutenant Commander Felice Manning. She will be your new team member. Lennox recruited her on our last mission in Qatar."

Most of the men nodded friendly and Felice reciprocated their silent welcome with a little smile. But obviously not all of them were happy to see a new team member and a female to cap it all.

"And how could a _woman_ be of use on our missions?" a brawny man with dark hair and eyes asked in a hostile tone.

"She saved your ass in Qatar." another man replied. "Remember the airstrike that also saved the Colonel and Epps? That was her." He turned to Felice. "My apologies, Ma'am. Sometimes he doesn't think."

"Oh, I do think. I think that a woman in a team like this is a burden and a weakness."

"Hatch! Enough." Jones said in a harsh tone and the conversation was terminated. But by the glare Hatch shot at Felice, she instantly knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

For the rest of the day, the team gave Felice a brief introduction in their general operation manners which some Felice recognized from Chicago. Then they set up a training schedule. In three months, the whole team had to pass a certificate that would determine their operation readiness and for Felice it would be the final test to be a fully qualified member of this Special Forces unit.

It was late, when they finally ended training and Felice headed to Lennox' office which provided a good view over the hangar. She tentatively knocked on his door.

"Come in."

She stepped inside and found him reading some files. "Hey."

"Felice." he looked up and smiled. "Are you ready?"

"Sure." she tried to smile, but every bone in her body was hurting like hell. For the past eight hours, she'd found herself shooting at giant robots (the Autobots had volunteered to train her), avoiding traps, disabling devices, riding on a half- transformed Ratchet and much more.

But she was determined not to show Lennox any sign of weakness that might lead him to regret his decision.

They drove to his apartment in silence and Lennox didn't ask any questions, when she claimed to be tried and vanished in his bedroom. After having a hot shower, Felice examined her back and found it to be blue and green. It hadn't been an accident, that Hatch had hit her with his rifle while they'd trained to clear a training facility. She sighed and left the bathroom. She wouldn't allow this son of a bitch take her down that easily. Lying on the bed, inhaling the familiar scent of Lennox that was all over the sheets, she fell asleep almost immediately.


	9. Chapter 9

During the next weeks, Jones and the other NEST members did their training routine thereby showing Felice their fighting techniques and tactics. When they ended their ten hour day of training, Felice would work out in the gym or do additional research about the Autobots and Decepticons. Getting to know her team members better and better, she'd learned that NEST was founded after the very first Decepticon attack and that Lennox and his team barely made it out alive while every man and woman on the SOCCENT base had been killed. That particular incident had led the Colonel and her friend Epps to the decision to stay with the Air Force and built up a taskforce that could fight these extraterrestrial enemies. But reading newspaper articles or action reports wasn't too enlightening. So she found herself talking a lot to the Autobots and Ratchet in particular. Over the past weeks the Autobots' medical officer and the young NAVY fighter pilot had become something like friends.

"Hey Ratchet, how's it going?" she greeted the green-and-black Autobot by casually slapping the Autobot's hood when she entered the Hangar one morning. While putting on a smile she tried her best to hide her limping. Yesterday's training had left a mark on her. Her ankle had all the colors of the rainbow and she knew exactly who to blame for it.

"Good morning, Commander." the Autobot replied with his deep voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you." Felice replied, waiting for the other NEST guys to arrive. They were scheduled to train with Ratchet and Sideswipe today.

"Are you sure? From what I've heard humans cannot change their color. But chameleons can. They do it for concealment as well as to scare off their enemies."

For a second Felice stared at the Autobot in disbelief. What the hell was he trying to say?! As if he'd read her thoughts he pointed his giant finger at her forearms which were bruised, blue and green from her _special training_ with Hatch.

Quickly, she rearranged her sleeves shooting the Autobots' medical officer a half-mocking look.

"No, Ratchet. I am not a chameleon."

But she could not suppress a grin. It was still strange and sometimes hard to follow Ratchet's thoughts. _They do it to scare off their enemies_, she thought still smirking. Maybe she should try this on Hatch.

"I just fell and hurt my arm. But I am fine." she cut him off as she saw Lennox appearing on the gallery. He didn't need to see her bruises and now that she'd moved into her new apartment it was a lot easier to hide her injuries from him.

While her conversation with Ratchet went on to another subject, Lennox waited for Optimus Prime to transform. From the gallery he could see Felice and Ratchet talk. Now a smile made its way onto her lips and Lennox could not help himself smiling as well. He was glad that his newest recruit was getting along well with his men.

"You picked very well, Colonel." Optimus said after transforming into his Cybertronian form.

Lennox turned to him.

"I had my doubts that she would be able to keep up with my men. But she's doing a good job so far." Lennox replied genuinely and Optimus nodded.

While Felice went with her team mates and the two Autobots to begin their training, Optimus and Lennox went to the end of the gallery to have a video chat meeting with their SECDEF. While following his Autobot friend, Lennox glanced after Felice. Was she really limping or just joking around with her team mates? But he had no time to pursue the thought. His team was already outside and he had to participate in the meeting.

_I should ask her later_, he made a mental note to himself before stepping in front of the camera.

While the Colonel was satisfied with Felice' progress, her silent struggle with Hatch continued and with every time she stood up after he'd assaulted her, he seemed to get more hostile and cruel. Her body was now blue and green almost everywhere. He'd managed to get her in the close quarter exercise so that he could beat her without being punished. And even though the other team members were about to help her, she refused it, thereby hoping to gain their respect.

Normally, she would have beaten the crap out of Hatch, but she was too afraid that Lennox would hear about her problems and protect her. So she remained silent, even though this situation was hard to take.

After a day full of training with the two Autobots Ratchet and Sideswipe, the NEST team returned to their HQ. While the other men headed off to their families, Felice met up with Lennox and Epps. The moving company had had some difficulties with her stuff and she was more than relieved when her container arrived, meaning that she could move in her new apartment. Sleeping on a camp bed in the middle of an empty room wasn't too cozy. So she'd asked Lennox and Epps to help her and they agreed immediately.

She hadn't much stuff, because she'd been deployed overseas most of the time, so they were done quickly. After they'd unpacked the last box, they sat down and ordered some food.

"So, do you like your new job, Felice?" Epps asked.

By the tone in his voice, Felice immediately knew where this was going. While Felice had been able to conceal her injuries from Lennox, Epps had seen her bruises more than once when they were working out in the gym together. So she replied in the most playful manner she could manage without making Lennox suspicious.

"Sure, it's kind of fun. Why?"

"I just heard some rumors." her friend replied and Felice shot him an evil glare so make him shut up. But of course it didn't work.

"What rumors?" Lennox now asked curiously looking up from his tool box he was about to close.

"Nothing." came the short response from her.

"Aw, come on Felice! We are your friends. Spill it!" Lennox said and poked his elbow in her ribs. It took Felice a lot not to scream; he'd hit the exact spot where Hatch had _accidentally_ shoved her against a metal balustrade.

"Some guys of the team don't like her. There are rumors that they are trying to get her out of the team." Epps said and considered himself lucky that he was out of Felice' reach. She would kill him for his betrayal.

Felice caught Lennox' concerned glance and tried to smile despite the fact that her ribs were still hurting.

"Felice, is that true? Why didn't you come to me?" he asked while scrutinizing her. For the last weeks he had the feeling that something was bothering her, but had no idea what it was. When he'd asked Epps about it he'd claimed that she was just training hard and indeed: she did an outstanding job when it came to the tactical exercises and her fitness compared to her male team mates.

"It's nothing really. Just the usual chatter about women in the military." she replied casually. The doorbell rang and Felice got up immediately.

"Epps, can you help me with the food?"

"Sure." he got up and followed her into the kitchen, immediately regretting his last sentence. He was due, he knew it. As soon as they were alone, Felice turned to him and shoved him against the fridge.

"What the hell was that?"

"What… Why the hell don't you tell Lennox that one of his men is assaulting you almost every time you set food in the hangar?"

"That's not true." Felice said, but she knew that he was telling the truth. She turned away to get some plates.

"I am not blind, Felice." Epps said and stopped her. Felice let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the kitchen table.

"And what am I supposed to do? If I tell Lennox he tells it Jones and Jones will get to Hatch and everything will get worse for me." she turned to get the food on the plates, but Epps stopped her.

"It can't go on like this. I mean, look at you. You look awful. He even asked me what is going on with you. I told him that you are just training hard to keep up with the others. And everyone on this team knows what is going on between you and Hatch, except him."

"Good, you keep it like that." Felice muttered.

"No, Felice. I won't. I won't let Hatch treating you like a punching bag just because you are a woman. I am glad that your teammates came to me, because I am going to end this."

"No, Epps." Felice' voice was a pleading whisper now. "If you do that, I will lose the respect and trust of every man on this team."

"Felice, Hatch is willing to do whatever is necessary to prevent you from graduating! Can't you see that?" Epps almost shouted and Felice prayed that Lennox hadn't heard their conversation. Then his words clicked and she glanced to her friend.

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"He's boasting of doing it in front of his men. I've heard it in the locker room."

Felice took a deep breath. He was trying to hurt her badly or worse. That was definitely more than she'd expected. But she was determined not to let him win and this time she would fight back.

"Fine, let him come." she muttered and tensed.

"Felice…"

"Just make sure, that Lennox doesn't know about it. I can handle Hatch myself." Epps was about to say another thing, but she stopped him. "This conversation is over. Are we clear?"

"Sure." Epps mumbled, clearly not liking her order but he knew that he was tilting at windmills. Felice hadn't become a fighter pilot by caving in when it came to take a challenge. So he took the plates and headed back to the living room.

While the Tech Sergeant left the kitchen, Felice leaned her forehead against the cold wall and inhaled deeply. Hatch was trying to hurt her in a way that she wouldn't be able to pursue her career at NEST maybe she would be harmed in a way that she wasn't able to fly anymore. That particular thought scared her the most. This was going to be harder than she'd expected.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Felice and her team were scheduled to train how to take out a Decepticon by jumping of a three story high building onto the enemy and shooting its head there or from the ground after sliding down on a thin metal rope. Bumblebee and Ratchet were already waiting at the giant metal stairs.

By the first look at her teammates, Felice knew that this was the exercise Hatch had chosen to take her out. Though she didn't know what to expect, she was glad that her team mates remained silent and none of them tried to intervene in whatever Hatch was planning. She had to do this on her own and they understood her. So she tightened the grip on her training rifle, which was filled with paint balls so that the Autobots would not be hurt during the training.

But before she could think of possible ways for Hatch to sabotage this exercise, Jones stepped in front of them and spoke up.

"So, this is how we take out Decepticons from above ground level. Make sure that you hit the spot under the core. The armor is weak there." Jones explained to them and prepared himself for the first jump.

After showing her how to do it right, he came back upstairs and gave Felice a few instructions while the other men prepared themselves for the exercise.

One after one they got their try and everyone was able to place the shot where Jones had told them and soon Ratchet's core was covered with a layer of pink color.

While Felice waited for her turn, she glanced around the hangar. Her eyes caught Lennox standing on the opposite site of the hangar, discussing some files with another NEST member. She'd hoped that he would be in his office by the time she would to this exercise, but now there was no turning back.

"Enjoy your jump. It's likely to be your last." she heard the sneering voice of Hatch as he stepped forward to make his jump.

Felice turned away from him and tried to focus on the task. She'd checked her gear, because she wasn't going to take any chances, so she wondered what he was up to. But there was no turning back now.

"Ready?" Jones asked her with an encouraging smile.

"Yes, Sir." she nodded and took a deep breath. Then she jumped. When she was almost down, she waited for the click of the safely that would catch her before she hit the ground. But there was none. Felice' heart sank and the next moment she hit the ground hard. Slowly, she raised her head and tried to move her arms and legs. Everything seemed to be alright. But when she tried to get up a screaming pain rushed to her body and pressed the air out of her lungs. Her rips must have been broken.

"Better check your gear the next time, honey." she heard Hatch laughing. From one second to the next she forgot her injuries and got on her feet. This man had made her life to hell for the past weeks and now he had almost killed her.

_Enough is enough,_ Felice thought and with two quick steps she was directly in front of Hatch and punched him in the jaw as hard as she could. Hatch stumbled back a few steps, but Felice had him grabbed on his uniform, throwing him on the ground. She didn't care about her broken rips. What she felt was beyond angry or mad. She just wanted to make this man pay for what he'd done to her.

"Now, you are going to pay, you scumbag." she muttered and another punch landed in his face before Hatch rose from his stiffness and punched her back.

"No, you are going to learn the lesson I tried to teach you since you arrived." Hatch grunted and his fist connected with her temple. Felice saw stars for a second; then she was back in the game.

"And what lesson would that be?" she asked after she got back up on her feet, ready to engage a second time.

"That it was a fault to allow women to play with the big boys. You are a security risk, you are weak, you don't deserve wearing a uniform…"

It was enough for Felice and she lunged out to kick him right in the gut, but he duck sideways grabbing her, squeezing her broken rips even more, and throwing her on the ground. Felice let out a blood curdling scream and almost fell unconscious, when she heard someone's voice from behind.

"Hey, what is going on here?" Lennox hollered when Hatch was about to go after her again.

"Sir…"

Hatch let go of Felice and when the Colonel saw who his man had beaten, his heart sank. Felice was lying on the ground. She had a nasty scar on her cheek and she groaned with pain as she tried to move.

With one swift motion Lennox turned to Hatch and had him grabbed on his lapel, pulling him close.  
"What-the-hell-is-going-on?" he whispered; spitting out every word.

But Hatch didn't respond. Lennox glanced to Felice. Seeing her lying on the ground made the images of her in Chicago flash through his mind. Though he wanted to know what had happened to her, her wellbeing was a priority.

"Get a medic over here. And now again: Is anyone willing to tell me, what just happened?"

Scott, another man of Felice' team stepped forward and tensed, clearly choosing his next words carefully before he began to speak.

"Sir, Commander Manning's rope was manipulated and when Hatch revealed that he did it, she…"

Lennox didn't trust his ears. "You did WHAT?" he turned to Hatch who he still had grabbed on his uniform.

"It's not all." Felice now heard Epps' voice. He had approached the group unnoticed. She let her head drop on the hard ground and closed her eyes for a second. The moment of truth had arrived.

"He'd been literally assaulting her since she arrived. Your men can confirm that." Epps glared to the rest of the team and they nodded slowly.

"And no one of you cowards had the balls to come to me? She could have been killed by that jump! I can't believe that you let down one of your team members!" Lennox hollered and shoved Hatch to Epps. "Get him out of my sight."

Lennox stood there for half a second; speechless. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. A man of his team, a man he trusted with his live had assaulted not only a fellow NEST member but he very person he'd sworn to protect at all costs. How was it possible that he hadn't noticed what was going on between the two? When he'd decided not to take part in the training exercises while Felice prepared for her NEST qualification he'd thought that he'd done her a favor. That she could learn without having the feeling of constantly being watched and graded by him. Now he had to see that bringing a new person into a team like this and a woman on top wasn't as easy as he'd thought. He'd promised her to do whatever it was necessary to protect her and by putting her on the same team with Hatch the opposite had happened. And Will Lennox hated himself for that.

"Lennox…"

A soft voice roused him from his dark thoughts. His head flew around to Felice, who was still lying on the ground. Slowly she managed to sit up, but she was very pale.

"I asked them to be quiet. I didn't want to bother you."

Lennox stared at her for a moment, stunned. She'd hidden all this torture from him to prove him that she was able to keep up with his men; with him. Before he could say any other word, the medics arrived and took her to the infirmary. He looked in her direction for a few seconds. Then he turned to his men, who immediately ducked their heads.

_You have no idea what hell is like._

Four hours later, Felice was lying restless in a hospital bed. She'd tried to convince the medics to let her go, but they insisted that she had to stay at least one night and she had a fairly good guess who gave the order.

Now, she watched Lennox peering through her door. When he found her awake, he approached her and sat down next to her.

"I am fine, Will. Please let me go home." she urged him, before he could say a word. But when she looked him in the eyes, she turned silent, completely dumbfounded by the emotions in his deep blue eyes. Anger and concern and regret. His look was an unspoken apology.

She didn't know how long they'd sit there, when he finally spoke up. She'd expected him to say something about Hatch or scold her for not telling him about her struggle with a fellow team member, but instead he just said: "Fine, but you are staying with me this night. In case there are any complications." in a tone that left no room for an argument. Felice sighed.

"Whatever. But please get me out of this building. It was a hell of a day." she replied and carefully got up.

During the ride to his home they remained silent and Felice wondered if Lennox was mad at her. They way he'd looked at her so didn't match his last words before leaving the hospital. After settling down on his bed- he had insisted that she had to lie down immediately and Felice was too tired to fight him- he finally spoke up.

"Why haven't you come to me?" he asked while gently placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know why." she replied sheepishly and started to play with the blanket.

For a moment they remained silent. Then she glanced to him.

"How's the rest of the team?"

Lennox looked at her in bewilderment.

"I hope you let them live." she explained with a little grin.

Lennox sighed and shook his head, disbelieving. "Of course. They'd assured me that they wanted to help you, but you stubborn gorgeous fighter pilot had threatened them not to." he replied with a half a grin.

Felice laughed; then groaned with pain. Lennox shot her a concerned glance.

"I'm fine. But laughing is not a good idea right now." she said and tried to even out her breathing to reduce the pain.

"You are crazy, you know that." He said shaking his head in disbelief. "Beating the crap out of a guy like Hatch with three broken ribs."

Felice' shoulders dropped. "I am sorry, Will."

"For what?"

"For bringing so much trouble into your team. Just give me the word and I am leaving tomorrow." she sighed. Though she missed flying he kind of started to feel home with her new team and friends. Suddenly she knew that she would miss NEST, miss Lennox.

"What the hell are you talking about, Felice? No one's going home except Hatch. I kicked him out of NEST and we are going to file a disciplinary proceeding against him. He will probably be discharged." He tenderly touched her cheek. "It's me who has to be sorry. I gave you my word to protect you and I didn't keep my promise. Now look where it was gotten you."

"Back into your bed." Felice smirked and groaned again as her ribs reminded her of the past

day.

"Sorry."

She shook her head and gazed to him. This wasn't the right time or place to mention the aftermath of her first combat injury while fighting alongside Lennox' team. He hadn't broken their deal yet, but the way he looked at her from time to time told her that he hadn't given up on her. Somehow she was glad that someone cared about her, but did it have to be her CO? She cursed her smart mouth for encouraging him unwillingly. But luckily he didn't take her cue in the way she'd expected him to.

"Sleep honey, that's the drug talking." he smirked and kissed her forehead. He could feel her close her eyes and smiled silently. "Call me when there's anything you need."

"Thanks, I will."

"No, you won't." Lennox replied with a half-mocking grin.

He knew her; a little too well for Felice' liking.

"Of course not." she grimaced and watched him close the door. Seconds later she was asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry for the late update. Though the next chapter is finished I had the feeling that something about Lennox' and Epps' past was missing here so I wrote this rather short chapter. I hope you like it. In the next one they will be back into action! Enjoy!**

While Felice was at home and had to take things slow in order to recover quickly, Epps visited her frequently filling her up with news from the team. After her fight with Hatch and the lack of camaraderie Lennox had given the boys the lecture of their lives. Though everybody thought it was just because of the fact that Felice was the newest member and a girl, Epps knew better. He and Lennox went back quite a while and Epps could tell that his friend's anger about the Hatch incident wasn't just because two of his team had a problem with each other. Through the masque of the tough Colonel Epps could see that Lennox cared deeply about Felice; though he would rather die than admit it.

The Tech Sergeant came to visit her as often as possible and told Felice about the lecture they'd gotten after Hatch had been discharged, not to mention the punitive training. Hearing about the fallout of her problems with Hatch, Felice sighed.

"Geez, Epps. What have I done to bring so much trouble to you guys? I should have never taken Lennox' offer." she exclaimed sadly. She knew it was a bad idea, but seeing her team mates to be the ones being punished hit her hard.

Epps offered her a comforting smile.

"It's not your fault, Felice. It's just… it's how Lennox is." he replied searching for the right words.

"What do you mean?" Felice asked, suddenly remembering the conversation she and Epps had months ago in DC after she'd been released from the hospital. _No one has come so close to our Colonel in such a short time,_ Epps had said. Now, Felice saw her chance to shed light on this issue.

"Tell me about his family." Felice demanded while getting up to fetch a couple of beers for them. Returning the look of his friend, Epps knew that he couldn't fool her twice.

"Fine, but this stays between us. He'll kill me if he gets to know that I am talking about him behind his back."

"My lips are sealed." Felice nodded and settled down next to him on the couch.

"I don't know much about his parents. They died years ago. But I think his father was in the military, too. He has a younger sister who lives on the west coast."

"What's she doing?"

Epps shrugged. "He doesn't talk much about her. But when he does…" Again he searched for the right words. "It's just a feeling, Felice. But they must have been very close."

"Have been?" Felice asked, getting curious about the past tense Epps had used.

"When Will and I started working in the same unit, he told me that they were pretty tight. We worked together for a couple of years and phew, Felice! He was quite the guy." Epps smirked. Felice shot him a questioning glance.

"No girl on the base was safe from him. He'd gotten himself into some serious trouble with several affairs, one with our CO's daughter!" Epps laughed and Felice could not help herself returning his smile. She was quite amused herself. She'd not expected the esteemed Colonel to be such a heartbreaker. Then she saw Epps getting serious again.

"We went off to different units for specialized training. While I stayed in the states, Lennox got deployed and when he came back, he'd changed."

"How?" Felice whispered, surprised by the sad glance in Epps' eyes.

"I don't know. But it seemed that the playful and heartbreaker William Lennox was left wherever he'd been. His affairs were over. He worked very hard and made his way through the ranks. He was always a natural when it came to military ops, but with all the hard work he'd invested to get to this position he'd become a great CO." He made a small pause and Felice could not help herself smile hearing how highly Epps thought of their friend Lennox. "Before the deployment he'd talked a lot about his sister and when he came back she practically didn't exist anymore"

"But she's alive?" Felice asked.

"Yeah. From time to time he mentions her, but every time he does, it's like…" he interrupted himself. "Felice, can't we change the subject? I don't think it's a good idea that I am telling you all these things."

Felice looked at her friend in astonishment. Sergeant Robert Epps, the guy whose mouth never seemed to stand still, was uncomfortable in telling stories? But this very fact told Felice a lot about her CO and friend Lennox. That there was more, but that she should ask him about it herself. She knew that Epps wouldn't tell her more, so she decided to let it go… for now. But there was something that had been bugging her since the beginning.

"One more thing, Epps." Felice said.

Her friend sighed impatiently but then nodded after her pleading look.

"How come that I've never met him before? I mean you guys go back quite a few years. I knew some of the NEST guys before, but never him. You two seem to be good friends."

"After that incident, he kind of kept to himself. We come from Huntsville and his family was almost on the other site of the states. So there'd never been the right time for him to come down I think. And even if… why are you so interested in him?" Epps asked, a smirk emerging on his lips.

"I am not." Felice simply said, taking a quick sip from her bottle. The last thing she wanted now was to discuss her feelings for Lennox. She was still quite confused about what she'd just heard and it would take some time for her to process it all and piece the picture together.


	12. Chapter 12

Felice returned to work four weeks later and was stunned to be welcomed with a little surprise party. Touched and well aware of the watchful eyes of Lennox on his men, she listened to them as they all apologized for their lack of help and promised her to stand up for her the second something like this would ever happen again. Felice had never been that happy to be back to work than this day and even though her injuries weren't completely healed the remaining weeks to their certification were just awesome.

Finally, Epps and Lennox joined their training and Felice was determined to show especially the Colonel what she'd learned and that she could keep up with any of her male coworkers.

Now, that Hatch was off the team, she was able to focus more on her work and one day, he heard Jones and Lennox talk about her.

"Seriously, Lennox. She'd off the chart. Her sniper skills are just unbelievable. And she said that she will do the jump again. I can't believe why she hadn't joint NEST earlier." Jones said and Felice could see how an amused smile curl Lennox' lips.

"That's good to hear, Ray."

"You really should consider her for the new program."

Now, Felice watched Lennox tense. What kind of program they were talking about? Lennox had never mentioned something like this to her and she wondered why he'd kept this from her.

"No, not yet. Just let her get some routine in what we are doing."

"Sure. Hey, I gotta run. I see you tomorrow."

She watched Lennox nod and the two men heading in different directions, Lennox heading directly towards her. She cursed silently and vanished behind the next corner, but he'd spotted her.

"Felice!"

"Oh, hey." she smiled and turned to him; hoping that he'd not caught her spying on his and Jones conversation.

"Is everything alright?" he asked scrutinizing her.

Over the past weeks he'd watched a remarkable change in his team. Not only Felice was more light-hearted but the whole team seemed to be more at ease. It looked like Hatch had had a bad influence on the whole team. But even with this problem gone he could not stop worrying about his newest team member. Now he watched his counterpart sigh impatiently.

"Stop it, Will." Felice grunted rolling her eyes. "I'm fine. No evil NEST members that are attacking me."

Lennox shot her an amused glance. "Of course not. Otherwise you would have told me, right."

"Right." Felice smirked.

"How's the training going on?"

"Good. Just a few exercises to go for today." she patted on her duffle bag containing her rifle and some additional gear. She was scheduled to meet up the Epps and Bee at the shooting range to rule out some difficulties she still had when it came to shoot straight while riding on the Autobots. Even though she trusted their allies without hesitation she was still insecure when it came to riding on them.

"Good." Lennox replied. "And after that?"

Felice looked up by the changed tone in his voice. She knew this challenging tone, but this time his eyes didn't give him away like before. Her conversation with Epps came back to her mind and she wondered if this was the moment when Lennox would cloister himself away once again from his friends… and from her. The young NAVY officer was quite surprised how much that particular though hurt her.

"Heading home, I guess." she murmured, still stunned about the pang of pain those thoughts had given her.

"I was just wondering if you want to grab some dinner tonight."

Felice' head flew up. Then she saw his deep blues sparkle in amusement while watching her reaction.

"Are you asking me out, Colonel?"

"I would never do that." he smirked, amused about how she'd called him. "But I am tired of eating alone all evening."

"Yeah, me too."

"You can bring Epps, if you want." Lennox suggested with a mocking smile.

"As our chaperone?" she laughed.

"Forget about Epps. Come over as soon as you've finished work."

"Thanks, I will. See you then."

Felice turned away, a bit confused but still smiling. Somehow she enjoyed their little game; reminding the other one of their past and still keeping the distance. But it would not be wise to push things further. They'd agreed on that when Felice had accepted the job. But sometimes she wondered how things would have gone on when she'd refused his job offer.

She shook her head to break up the train of thoughts that was going around her head and went to see Epps.

Her dinner with Lennox was nice but uneventful. They were talking about numerous things and Felice was glad that things were returning back to normal.

Four days later, they had their certification test and everyone passed. Felice was happy and relieved to be a fully qualified NEST member now. They set up a little party that evening and everyone was enjoying the first real evening off for months. But the day had been exhausting so soon most of the guys headed home to get some much needed sleep. Only a few like Epps and Jones weren't tired at all; sitting together and telling each other stories about their past missions against the Decepticons.

Suddenly, Felice felt Lennox' hand on her back. She turned to him with a questioning glance.

"I've got something for you." he said quietly and rose.

Felice got up as well and followed him to his office. She closed the door and watched him pulling a little black box out of his desk. He handed it to Felice who shot him an uncertain glance.

"Go ahead, open it." he said, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Felice undid the ribbon, opened the box and held her breath. A silver necklace was in it with a small oval pendant. Felice carefully turned the pendant and found small letters inscribed. _To Felice, who always brings light to darkness._

She swallowed hard and looked up to Lennox, who reciprocated her look with a little smile.

"We met on the darkest day of all and somehow you brought light to it." he replied quietly.

He had thought about it for a long time. If it was right, _appropriate_, to give her a present for her graduation. It wasn't forbidden but highly uncommon for a CO to gift something to a fellow soldier, but somehow he'd come to the realization that his whole work relationship with Felice was highly uncommon. And somehow he felt the urge to tell her how special she was to him.

"Thank you." Felice whispered, not sure if her voice wasn't going to crack. She was so stunned by this caring gesture of him, so overwhelmed. She stepped forward and Lennox embraced her, inhaling her irresistible scent. For a moment, they hold on to each other; then Felice tensed and brought a little space between them.

"I don't know what to say, Will." Felice whispered and carefully ran her fingers over the letters.

"Just promise me to be careful on our missions and not to take any stupid risks."

Something in his voice, the urge and his demand for her to comply made her swallow hard.

"I promise." she said and raised her hand like for an oath, surprised to see Lennox laugh at her gesture.

"We should really get back to the others."

"Yeah." Felice sighed and suddenly she felt the urge to tell him so much, she hadn't in DC or Qatar. But this wasn't the right place or time and she regretted it.


	13. Chapter 13

The next two months, Felice and her team were doing work-ups to improve their skills as a team. Felice was happy with her new job, but sometimes she missed her old life and especially flying with her RIO and her squadron stationed at the other end of the states.

The days passed and no threat of the Decepticons was visible. One day, they were on a shooting range as Lennox approached them. For a while he watched their training. Felice and Epps were shooting and Lennox silently smirked, when he saw that Felice clearly appeared to be the better sniper.

"Damn Felice, how the hell are you doing that?" Epps exclaimed as Felice managed to shoot of the dummy's ear once again; upside down.

"Just point and shot. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Felice said, chambered a new round and handed the rifle to Jones, who was no longer her training officer, but her team mate.

"Girl, you are watching too many movies." Epps grimaced.

"But she's right." Lennox said and gave Felice an approving nod. She smiled and put on her shades. For a while she watched Jones and another guy of their team shooting, not aware that her CO was observing her askance.

Her hair was braided back in a ponytail and she was wearing her black combat pants and boots, a gun holster that was attached to her upper leg and a black tank top which showed her feminine curves in a fortunate way. Lennox smiled when he saw the thin silver necklace hanging around her neck, the small pendant vanishing in her tank top. He stepped behind her so that their bodies almost met.

"You are wearing it." he said keeping his voice low so that the others won't hear him.

Felice turned to him.

"Every day. It's supposed to keep me safe, remember?" she replied with a genuine smile.

He returned her smile and nodded. He'd not been sure whether she would understand his intentions but she seemed to cherish his present and he was glad that she liked it. Before he could say anything else, his phone rang.

"Lennox… When? … How many? … Copy that. We are on our way." He put the phone back into his pocket; an alarmed look on his face.

"Guys, they are back. We have to go now." he said and Felice felt her heart drop. This was what they had trained for, but she could not help herself being afraid. The last time, they barely avoided the end of the world and no one was able to say what the Decepticons were up to this time.

They packed their bags in a hurry and half an hour later, Felice found herself sitting in a plane with thirty men from NEST- she had no idea where Lennox had gotten them that fast- and the Autobots, who were waiting in their alt-modes in the big cargo plane. After the take-off everyone gathered next to the Autobots. On one of the plane's walls a big flat screen was attached showing their route to the destination. Now, Felice watched Lennox pull out a tablet pc and the image on the screen changed to a series of maps and charts. Then her CO spoke up.

"So, our target is a secluded town in China where we suspect a couple of human operatives for the Decepticons. They have already taken numerous people hostage and there are casualties. We will be working the Chinese military, because we currently have no ships in the yellow sea. So we have no aerial support this time. We will focus on the operatives while the Autobots are going after the Decepticons. The territory is very hard to reach, that is why we won't have all the Autobots for backup. We'll go in on foot; the Racars will stay with the plane case we have to retreat." Lennox explained. "Any questions?"

"What means 'a couple of human operatives'?" a fellow NEST-solider asked.

"We are expecting at least twenty, but heat images via satellite in this area were very blurry. So be on your guard." Lennox replied and the solider nodded. "Our ETA is in about thirteen hours so I suggest you get some rest before we're going in."

He nodded and everybody went back to their seats. While Felice watched most of them close their eyes to find some sleep, some were settling down pulling out their mp3-players listening to some music or cleaning their weapons. Their faces were impassive, but their body language told her that they weren't as cool as they hoped to appear.

Felice couldn't get any sleep so she watched Lennox and some other team members check their equipment and chatting with each other quietly. She was too nervous just to close her eyes. It had been a while since she'd been involved in a combat situation on the ground; except Chicago of course, but she didn't count that. She didn't realize how Lennox approached her and sat down next to her.

"How are you doing?" he asked and it was not the first time that Felice wondered how a man could have such a warm and beautiful voice one moment and shout orders the next.

"Well, despite the fact that you've screwed up my plans for this evening… I'm fine." she laughed, but she felt that it sounded false.

"Hey, everything will be fine. We're gonna get home safe and sound as ever." he assured her, reaching out for her hand. But in the middle of the way he stopped, obviously aware of the fact that his team was watching. He shifted a little uncomfortably but she gave him a reassuring smile. For a while they were sitting next to each other in silence.

"Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I'm fine." she repeated, determined not to make him worry about her capability to stand this through. "It's just new, that's all."

Lennox wasn't satisfied with this answer, but he knew that she wasn't going to tell him what was on her mind, so he didn't ask any further questions.

"We should get some rest." he said, snuggling comfortably in the seat; he was asleep almost immediately.  
Felice watched his even breathing for a while, disbelieving that these men could just sleep in a situation like this. As a fighter pilot she was trained to be aware of what was going on around her all the time, so closing her eyes was not an option, especially not when they were flying over potential enemy territory.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: The credits for the idea of the cloaking device go to Pink Lady Alex. You should really check out her amazing stories! Thanks again for inspiring me to write this battle situation and for letting me use the device!**

A few hours later, they started their decent to a military base 100 miles west of their destination. Lennox had decided not to take any chances and probably being shot down, so they had to continue their way on foot, respectively riding in the Autobots' alt modes. During the flight they'd just worn their black combat uniforms, but when their ETA came down to half an hour, everyone started to gear up. Knee and elbow protectors were secured, ammo clips, radio and other gear were fastened on the bulletproof vests, weapons holstered and rifles checked. Felice had to carry and fight with a package of equipment weighting almost as much as her own body weight. But over the past months she'd become used to it and was now ready to engage in her first Decepticon fight as a member of NEST; physically. Mentally, she wasn't so sure yet. But there was no turning back now.

After touching down in the middle of nowhere, they split up and rode to their destination in the Autobots' altmodes. They were scheduled to meet the head of operations, a man named Colonel Wang, at a command post two miles from the suspected Decepticon hideout. When they arrived, Felice was shocked about the complete chaos. Soldiers were yelling all over the place, trying to treat the many injured that were sitting or lying in the main building of the command post. It took Felice a lot not to cover her ears to lock out the horrible screams. Felice exchanged a look with Epps who gave her a hint of an encouraging smile, obviously shocked himself about the scenario they found themselves in. She nodded imperceptibly and followed him through the narrow hallways into a bigger hangar where the Autobots had already arrived.

Soon, they found Colonel Wang who briefed them about the current situation.

"Colonel Lennox. Thank you and your team for coming so quickly to help us." he started in pretty good English.

Lennox nodded without a smile. Since they had left the states, Felice had seen a change in her CO. For the past months she'd known him as a kind and caring person with a great sense of humor privately and as a professional when it came to the job; always fair with a sympathetic ear for the problems for those serving under him. But now he seemed to have grown a little more dangerous and a little less friendly since the mission was accepted. His expression was grim and dark when he listened to the Chinese Colonel's situation report.

"So, against how many operatives do you think are up to?" he asked.

"There are at least five Decepticons and fifteen ghosts…"

"Wait, did you just say ghosts?" Lennox interrupted him.

"Yes, ghosts. They look like humans, but you can see through them. And we don't know how to kill them."

"Holoforms." Optimus, who'd listened to their conversation, said. "There are more Decepticons projecting them. We have to kill them, because the Holoforms can't die."

"But this is the first time the Holoforms are armed. How are we supposed to find the 'Cons?" Lennox asked, running his fingers through his military short hair. NEST had used Holoforms once or twice, but only to mimic the driver of one of the Autobots. This was new to him as well.

Meanwhile, Felice' head was spinning; then an idea came to her mind.

"It's like a projection, right?" she asked.

Optimus nodded.

"Affirmative, Commander."

"Then they have to be close by to project it."

"But then we would see the 'Cons, Felice. But it seems that they are at hiding." Epps said.

"Of course they are. They must have some kind of cloaking device. It we can bring that down, we see them and then take them out." she explained her theory.

"That's it!" Colonel Wang exclaimed.

"Yeah, maybe." Epps said, not nearly as excited as the Colonel. The Decepticons had proven themselves as smart enemies and rushing into action wasn't an option for such a small force like NEST. "But if she's right, we have to deal with much more enemies than we expected."

Lennox nodded.

"But speculations are not bringing them down. We are going in. Colonel Wang, make sure all your casualties are treated. We've got this. We will use the Energon detectors to get their location. Scott and Jones will cover the outer perimeters with their teams. I'll brief you on the details now. You guys get ready."

The two men approached their CO whereas Felice and the others headed back to the remaining Autobots to get their gear. Looking back, she could see the three men looking at a map and Lennox showing several points while giving last instructions. Scott and Jones looked to each other; then they nodded.

"Alright, is everyone good to go?" Lennox asked when he was back with his team. He received grim nods as a silent answer.

"Alright, let's move." he said and took his rifle.

The three groups made their approach to the city, each group with Autobot support. The streets were empty and smoke was emerging from several buildings. The faint sound of gunfire rang through the abandoned urban canyons. But the enemy was nowhere to be seen. They'd almost reached the origin of the battle noise, when Felice caught a glimpse of the enemy.

The Holoforms were lined up in front of a huge building like they were guarding it. They all looked like soldiers; wearing uniforms and weapons. But one thing almost made her hold her breath. They were using humans as a shield. Felice could make out the silhouettes of women and even children, wailing and scared to dead by their alien hostage takers. She tightened the grip around her rifle and glanced to Lennox. He indicated the group to stop. While she waited for her CO's instructions, she watched the horrible scene. She had no clue how they could take out the Decepticons without harming the civilians.

Lennox glanced around; there was no sight of the Decepticons. He made a small waving gesture and slowly he and his team approached the facility. The Autobots stayed hidden behind a couple of other cars for not tipping of the 'Cons.

They'd made it within firing range when the Holoforms spotted them, opening fire immediately. Felice and Epps took cover behind a wall, peering around the corner, raising her rifle, ready to return the fire. But Lennox stopped them.

"Hold your fire! You are going to kill the civilians." he hollered and tapped to his earpiece. "Optimus, can you see them?"

_"Yes, I see some of them."_

"Do you see the cloaking device?"

_"Affirmative, Colonel. I will try to take it out."_

"Wait until I give you the order." Will said and turned to Felice and the rest of the team.

"Optimus has a visual of the cloaking device. He will disable it and as soon as the 'Cons are visible we start to take them out. Felice, I need you and Mitchell on the roof to take out their eyes."

"Copy that." Felice said and she and Mitchell ran to the building that was across the street from where the Decepticons seemed to hide.

"In position." she whispered as soon as they'd reached their vantage point.

"Don't fire until I tell you." she heard Lennox' voice through her earpiece and she tried to even out her breathing like every time she did when she was about make a long distance shot. Their position provided her a good overview of the situation.

Now, she saw Optimus moving closer to the building in front of which the hostages were held by the Holoforms. Her eyes rested on Lennox and his team which were now approaching the hostages sideways, ready to engage as soon as hell would break loose. Scott and Jones were out of her sight of now, but they most likely were covering the sides; meaning to secure their way out in case they had to retreat.

Then Optimus disabled the cloaking device and as soon as Lennox gave the order, Felice and her team mate started to take out the Decepticons' optics. Disorientated, the Holoforms weren't able to fight the NEST soldiers and so Lennox and his men were able to secure most of the hostages. They took out another three Decepticons, but most of them were killed by the Autobots, who had come out of hiding and were striking at full force now.

In the meantime, Felice and Mitchell were down on the ground again, fighting with their team against the enemy. One time, Felice barely avoided being blown up by one of the remaining Holoforms, but she was lucky. The bullet hit the wall only inches from her head. Concrete splashed to all sites, a small piece hitting her, opening a little cut on her eyebrow. She reached upwards, just to find blood on her fingers. Quickly, Mitchell examined it, but he decided that she was good to go, so they continued their way back to their team.

The NEST and the Autobots were fighting at full force and soon it looked like they were about to win the battle. Then, the seemingly impossible thing happened. One of the Decepticons got lucky and overpowered Optimus stealing his Matrix. For a moment, everyone held their breath as the small blue glowing item hovered in the air; then a giant metal bird appeared out of nowhere and grabbed it with its claws.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! They made my day! **

**Due to some questions that arose: As I mentioned earlier, Lennox is neither married nor has kids. I sticked with the movie regarding the dead Autobots (which means only Ironhide and Que/Wheeljack died in DOTM, but I chose to keep one particular Decepticon alive (you might already know which one). **

**So now have fun with the new chapter!**

Seconds later, Bumblebee and Ratchet had killed the remaining Decepticons, leaving the city in an odd silence for a few seconds. But the real fight hadn't even begun yet.

Quickly making sure that every Holoform and Decepticon was killed, Lennox', Scott's and Jones' teams gathered and met up with the Autobots who were standing around Optimus who was half sitting half lying on the ground.

"That was Laserbeak! How is that possible?" the yellow Camaro exclaimed, his optics flying around confused. "I shot him in Chicago."

"I don't know, Bumblebee." Optimus replied, breathing heavily, as if he was injured.

While Lennox turned to his two team leaders giving instructions to secure the hostages, Felice turned to Epps, asking him about the Matrix.

"It can repower a Transformer's spark. They might try to revive Megatron or Sentinel." Epps told her, keeping his voice low. Disbelieving, Felice stared at him. Her nightmare from Chicago was about to rise from the dead. Suddenly, she was shivering.

"I sense he is still here." Ratchet said and pointed to a building two blocks south of them.

"Let's light him up." Epps suggested, but Optimus stopped him.

"No. We need the Matrix. It's the only thing that can maintain the survival of our race. We need it." His optics dropped to Lennox and he understood.

"We are going in. Be careful with your shots. We need to get it back in one piece." he turned to Felice and pulled her aside. Her injury hadn't gone unnoticed by him when she and Mitchell had returned to the team. Gently, he took her chin with his gloved hand and turned her face to examine her injury.

"It's nothing, really." Felice said impatiently and avoided looking into his eyes which were full of concern.

"Fine, but you will stay here and…"

She cast off his hand. "What? No!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you will. You've done enough today."

And she really had. He was glad that she'd mastered her first live NEST combat well, but he wasn't going to push his luck or hers. Even though he was totally focused on their mission, he felt the conflicting emotions about keeping her close by while protecting her welling up again. He had to deal with that later, he knew. For now he would ground her for her own safety. But the young NAVY officer was about to thwart his plans.

"William Lennox, I am the best sniper on your team and am literally your best shot in getting that thing back to the Autobots!" she told him angrily then lowered her voice. "Stop treating me like that. We had a deal."

"And I gave you my word…"

"I don't give a damn about you word!" she exclaimed and the second she'd said those words she already regretted them. Her heart sank as she saw his hurt look, but this was not the right time to reveal any personal feelings.

"We are running out of time. I am going in with you, like it or not." she said firmly and turned away from him.

Before he could stop her, he watched her heading back to the team.

"Laserbeak is about to move. You have to engage now, Colonel!" Ratchet's voice brought him back to life and he nodded with a grim expression on his face.

They made their way to the building Ratchet had detected the Decepticon bird and the Colonel gave the signal to move in. It turned out to be some kind of abandoned hangar for planes. The first rooms and the small hall seemed empty. They continued clearing the rooms down the hallway. One last door remained. They got in position in front of a door at the end of the room. Lennox counted silently to three and burst through the door. They were standing in the main hangar, a big room with a metal gallery about fifteen meters from about ground level. On one of the stairs that were heading to the gallery, Laserbeak was sitting. Immediately, he opened fire and Lennox and his team had to take cover behind some old planes.

While Lennox and his men returned cover fire, Felice quickly scanned the situation, knowing that there weren't many options to get the Matrix back. Just one to be exact. And that Lennox wouldn't approve it.

"Come on, I have a plan." Felice whispered to Epps, who was leaning against the plane next to her reloading his gun.

"What kind of plan?" Epps asked suspiciously.

"The kind of plan that will save the Matrix. We have to take out his eyes, just like we did with the other 'Cons, but we can't do it from here. We have to get up there." She pointed to the gallery. "Then he hopefully crashes down and Lennox can get the Matrix." she whispered.

"Okay, let's tell him."

"No, he doesn't want me to be in danger." She rolled her eyes. "He won't let us do it." As Epps hesitated, she urged him: "Come on Epps, we are running out of time!"

The Tech Sergeant looked to Laserbeak who seemed to have an endless amount of ammo to shoot at them, then glanced to Lennox who was about to call in for backup. They had to do it while he wasn't paying attention to them. Somehow Epps understood his friend's intentions, but if he'd wanted to keep Felice safe he shouldn't have signed her up into a black ops team. And even though he was worried as well that Felice could get hurt, he had complete faith in her abilities and her judgment.

"Fine." Epps sighed and followed Felice to the stairs that led up to the gallery.

Meanwhile, Lennox' mind was racing to work out a plan to take out Laserbeak. He turned to his men, who were waiting for his instructions. The backup team would arrive in five minutes but he was not sure if they had that kind of time. Looking to his fellow team members, he started to explain further actions.

"Alright, backup's arriving in…" he stopped, searching for one face in particular.

"Where the hell is Felice?" he almost yelled, keeping his voice low, to not reveal their exact position to Laserbeak.

"I don't know, Sir." one of his men said. "Wait, look!" He pointed upwards and Lennox felt his heart dive. Felice and Epps were sneaking up the stairs to the gallery. Each from one side; and only a few feet away from the Decepticon. Then his reflexes clicked.

"Get ready to fire the moment I tell you. They will need a diversion to get a clear shot." he whispered and took the safety off his rifle. His men spread to have various angles on the target for a clear shot. He waited for everybody to be in position; then he turned his gaze upwards.

Felice was raising her rifle, locking eyes with Epps, who nodded.

"Hey yo!" she yelled and whistled.

Laserbeak turned towards her and Epps took cover to that she could get a clear shot. She took out one of his eyes before he opened fire at her. She threw herself in the metal stairs as Epps opened fire at him, as well as Lennox and his team. Laserbeak let out a blood curdling screech and spread its wings and moved to Epps and grabbed him with its claws. Before anyone of them could react, he had thrown Epps over the balustrade and Epps was falling onto one of the planes.

"NOOO!" Felice screamed and jumped forward just to get Laserbeak at his tail. The giant metal bird whirled around and before he could react, Felice had pulled her handgun of her holster and shot his second eye. The next second, she was hit by something that smashed her against the wall behind her. Laserbeak had shot her. Slowly she sank onto her knees, her hand moving upwards to her chest. Luckily, the bullet didn't go through, but her ribs were hurting like hell and she couldn't breathe properly.

Laserbeak was now beyond rage or furious, firing uncontrollably through the whole hangar. It was a miracle that Felice didn't get hit by another bullet. The bird was still sitting on the balustrade, firing at Lennox and the other NEST soldiers who tried to shoot the 'Con, but not her.

Slowly, Felice got up to her feet and looked at the Decepticon and a slightly crazy idea came into her mind. She glanced to Lennox, who was firing at Laserbeak. Their eyes met for half a second and as he had read her thoughts, he shook his head, but she didn't listen to him. She put down her rifle and sneaked up to the Decepticon. Except for his seemingly endless firing, he was not moving at all and she could see the Matrix shining under one of his wings. When she was right behind the blind bird, she didn't even dare to breathe. Carefully, she reached out for the Matrix, knowing that the second Lennox and his team had to stop firing for not killing her would reveal her plan.

She shot a quick glance to her CO and nodded, then her hand flew forwards and her fingers tightened around the blue glowing item. Laserbeak immediately sensed the change in his environment and turned to Felice.

She didn't look back, she just ran. The Matrix in her one hand, she was about to pull her gun, when Laserbeak opened fire at her. But he didn't aim for her, he aimed for the gallery. For half a second the images of her falling down the gallery after Hatch had manipulated her rope flashed through her mind. Felice knew that she wouldn't survive another jump of this height, especially without any kind of rope. And even if she was lucky enough to survive it, she wouldn't be able to secure the Matrix. So she turned and her eyes searched for the Colonel.

"Lennox!" she hollered and didn't wait for his response. She threw the Matrix in his direction and just as her fingers get go of it, the gallery caved in and Felice fell.

Lennox' heart stopped a moment as he saw Felice fall. His hands were clutched around the Matrix, casting blue shadows on his face. Then, he saw her clutching on to a hanging part of the gallery. He couldn't believe his eyes. She caught herself. She was going to be okay…

The voice of one of his men brought him back to reality. "Lennox! We need to get out of here, NOW!"

He turned his head and saw what his man must have meant. The huge gas tanks near them had been hit during the shootout and were on fire now. It was only a matter of time until they would explode.

"No, we have to get her first!" he yelled and was about to run towards her, when the first gas tank exploded, setting up a wall of flames between her and him.

"Will, come on!"

By now he realized that it was Epps, who'd yelled at him. He was unharmed after his fall, now shouting something at him he certainly heart but didn't proceed. His eyes were clued on the spot where Felice must have been and rested there even when Epps grabbed his friend, pulling him out of the building. Numbly, he stared to the flames and seconds later the whole building exploded.


	16. Chapter 16

No, this was not real. _She can't be gone. This is not real… _Lennox stared at the flames, unable to speak, to breathe. Images of another building bursting into flames flashed through his mind and for a few moments he wasn't sure whether he was here or there. Back in another time and place where things had been turned from heaven to hell in a matter of seconds. His thoughts went back to Felice. She'd been the most incredible woman he'd ever met. Her brave actions in Chicago, her smart mouth when they'd first met. The way she'd smirked at him after Epps had interrupted their first date. Her look after the battle in Qatar. So many moments he realized that had lightened up his life in the past couple of months. He'd enjoyed her presence so much_._

"Smooth guys, very smooth. You really could have waited for me."

His head flew around and he stared into two eyes that could only belong to one person. Felice' face was blackened with soot and her clothes had some burn holes, but she appeared to be unharmed. Now, she wiped the dirt of her face and clothes, coughing a little from the dust in the air, looking up with a mocking grin.

For a second, every man in their team just stared at her like she was a ghost, then they all started hollering in approval. Felice flashed them a smile, then she was pulled into a big hug by Epps.

"You are crazy, you know that, right?" he said with a big grin even though his eyes were full of concern. She just shrugged, earning a nudge her in the ribs. She inhaled sharply.

"Jesus, getting shot hurts." she gasped and pressed her hand into the side.

"Are you alright?" she looked up and found Lennox now standing in front of her.

Felice could just nod; the expression in his eyes literally made her loose her tongue. He carefully wrapped his arm around her waist; half helping her to walk, half embracing her protectively.

The Autobots were waiting close by and Felice was relieved that she didn't have to walk all the way back to the command post. They just stopped there to tell Colonel Wang that everything was fine and headed to back the military base where their C-17 was waiting. For the whole ride back to the base, Lennox was uncharacteristically quiet, but Felice was too exhausted to worry about it. As soon as they were there, he made sure, that her injuries were treated and headed to the main hangar to inform the headquarters about their successful accomplished mission.

He also decided to take the offer of the Chinese government to stay a night and get some sleep before flying home. Wearing a clean uniform and her guns again, Felice returned to her team, just to find them sitting in the galley, eating Chinese food and talking about her latest stunt. When she reached them, they started hollering in approval again.

"Hey, we ALL did this together." she tried to calm them down. "As a team."

"Yeah, as a team with one crazy ex- fighter pilot, who likes to get thrown of high galleries repeatedly!" Scott laughed and Felice shot him a mocking glance.

"Stop it, please. I don't like to be reminded of either of these jumps." she grimaced and took a sip of the beer Epps had offered her. Then she turned to her friend.

"He let you live." she said quietly, so that he others wouldn't hear what they were talking about. Epps let out a heavy sigh.

"He is so pissed, Felice. We shouldn't have done it."

"What? And let Laserbeak take the Matrix to whoever of this creeps is left to be revived?!" She glanced around; there was no sign of the Colonel.

"Where is he anyway?"

Epps nodded to the door and Felice immediately duck her head, as she saw the expression on Lennox' face. This was neither the look of her kind CO nor a friend but more of a predatory animal ready to tear its prey into little pieces. Without a word he indicated her to follow him. She glanced to Epps.

"He is going to kill me."

"No, he won't."

"Yes, he will."

"Okay, maybe."

"Shit."

Epps let out a little laugh. "Good luck."

Felice grimaced and rose to follow Lennox. He didn't look at her or spoke a word. They wandered through the empty hallways for about five minutes and just when Felice was about to ask, what this was supposed to mean, he stopped in front of a small room. Felice peered through the doorframe and saw an office he obviously was allowed to use for his briefings with the NEST headquarters. Lennox entered the room and she followed him. She closed the door and turned around, just to find him standing right in front of her, only inches away. For a moment they looked at each other; then he took her face in his hands and tucked her all the way up against him, while covering her lips with his. First, Felice wanted to stop him, but she was too stunned to do so. She felt her knees go weak as he pushed her against the door and she slipped her hands around his neck. With one hand he locked the door, still kissing her. His muscular body was pressed against her; maybe a little bit too fierce. Felice inhaled sharply; that wasn't the kind of treatment her maltreated body needed, but she could not resist his kisses.

His hands were everywhere at once, stroking her back, in her hair and cupping her butt as his lips wandered from her mouth to her neck. Letting her emotions get the better of her she sighed and just as she was about to unbutton his uniform he stopped kissing her. She looked up in bewilderment, just to find him breathing as heavily as her. Then he gently took her face with both hands again, forcing her to look him squarely into the eyes.

"Promise me, that you will never, never to do something that stupid ever again." he whispered. Felice had to swallow hard when she heard his voice trembling and she only nodded, while she ran her hand through his hair then resting it on his cheek. He pulled her close and she could feel his whole body shaking as he gently stroke her back.

"God, Felice. I have never been so scared in my entire life! What the hell were you thinking?" he whispered.

"I don't know. We had to get the Matrix, right?" she mumbled; touched, stunned, shocked about how much Lennox seemed to care about her. Her mind was empty, but every cell in her body was focused on her counterpart.

"But not with some crazy stunt! You could have been killed!"

"We all could have been killed today." she replied, her head still placed on his chest. "But I am sorry that I bothered you."

"Bothered?" he exclaimed, looking into her eyes. "That's a huge understatement and you know that." he said, but a little grin curled his lips and Felice sighed with relief. He wasn't really mad at her.

"Will, I knew that I was going to be okay."

"How's that?"

She pulled out the small pendant he had given her.

"It worked."

Lennox exhaled heavily and pulled her close again while Felice hid the necklace in her uniform. Holding her that close gave him the reassurance he needed to know that she was going to be okay. He ran is hands down her back, feeling the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her uniform.

"It worked because you have nine lives, dear." he said sternly but couldn't keep the grin from his voice.

"Yeah, probably wasted eight and a half today." she grimaced and Lennox chuckled. Then he kissed her again, but much more tender than before. Felice reciprocated it and didn't pull back when he deepened the kiss. But as soon as he attempted to take of her uniform, she stopped him, realizing what he was going to do.

"We can't do this." she whispered, still feeling his lips on her neck.

"Why not?" he mumbled, sliding up her shirt.

"Because…. we are in a foreign country, our team is waiting for us to return and we have been gone way too long. Aaand…"

"We had a deal." he sighed and locked eyes with her. "This is your favorite excuse, isn't it?" he smirked and Felice was surprised that he wasn't mad at her.

"Maybe. Let's safe the rest for next time." she replied with a challenging smile as she straightened out her uniform.

"Oh, there's a next time?"

"Stop it, Will." she laughed and slipped her hands around his waist to pull him close just one last time. Absentmindedly, she wondered how things had gotten so far so fast. But she had to admit that she enjoyed being so close to Lennox. It kind of felt kind of natural… felt right. Now she looked up to him, searching for his deep blues.

"But if that's how you give someone a sermon after disobeying orders, I definitely should do it more often." she smirked and leaned in to kiss him.

"Don't even think about it." he chuckled as he kissed her back. "Now, let's get back to the others."

They returned to their team which had continued celebrating without them. While Lennox went to the kitchen to get some foot, Felice collapsed in the chair next to Epps.

"Wow, this was one kind of a severe lecture." Epps said, eying at Felice.

"What?" She shot him a confused glance, her mind still in the office.

"Thirty minutes. Man, he must have been really pissed."

Felice nodded, smirking silently. "Oh… yeah. But I think we are good now. We did save the Matrix, one way or the other."

"Yeah."

She leaned back and took the bottle of beer Epps offered her. The subject seemed to be terminated for him and Felice was glad that she didn't need to answer any further questions. She'd never been so thirsty in her life and she wasn't sure if it was from all the dust she'd inhaled earlier or from the kisses she'd just exchanged with Will Lennox.


	17. Chapter 17

They returned home safely and got a few days off to recover from their last deployment. Everybody was tired and exhausted after the long hours of travelling half around the world and went home. But Epps and Felice took the opportunity to fly to Huntsville and visit their families. When they'd decided to go, Epps had asked Lennox whether he wanted to come with them, but he had turned down the offer. Felice didn't know why he didn't want to come with them, but she remembered her chat with Epps about Lennox' family and made a mental note that she had to ask him about this issue. But for now she was glad to take some leave and enjoy a few days at home without the threat of being shot at by aliens or any other hostile forces.

Even though Lennox had turned down Epps' offer to come with him and Felice, the Colonel had volunteered to drop them off at the airport. While he drove through the crowded streets of Washington DC, Epps and Felice were chatting animatedly about what they were going to do once at home. Listening to Epps' crazy ideas and Felice' light laughter and smart comments in return, he observed his newest team member askance. Only two days had passed since they'd returned from China. Since she'd been able to rescue Optimus' Matrix. Since she'd fallen of the gallery and he'd thought he'd lost her forever. Two days since their little make out in his office.

The thought of their encounter awoke the conflicting emotions about the young NAVY officer once again. Will Lennox had always considered himself to be a rational guy, but what happened in China had left him with more questions than answers.

The picture of Felice falling from that gallery flashed through his mind and with it the fear and the helplessness he'd felt when the building exploded. He'd not felt like that in a long time. And when he saw her standing there, blackened with soot but apparently unharmed, a wave of relief had washed over him only to be followed by anger; huge anger.

He was so angry with her! That she had disobeyed his orders, not once but twice in such a short time. He had totally expected her to play by the rules; his rules. During their workups she'd always followed his orders and just when they went on her first live op she had to make her own decisions! As a CO he knew he had to ground her for that stupid stunt, but on a personal level, he could not help admiring her for her courage.

And he was angry with himself. That his decisions had put her in danger. The second he had seen the Holoforms and the amount of chaos they had been thrown in, he knew that he never should have asked her to join NEST. He had put her in harm's way and by seeing her almost dying while fighting alongside him, he had felt the same fear welling up like in Qatar when she and her RIO had been targeted by the missile which was mean to destroy the Decepticon.

He cursed himself that he had let his emotions get the better of him which had ended in some heated moments in a small office somewhere in China. When he'd called her to follow him he'd planned on giving her the talk about not ever disobey his orders again. But when she'd stood in front of him, so close that he could smell the clean scent of her, the short walk coloring her cheeks, _seeing the life in her_, he suddenly realized how damn lucky they'd been. That they'd cheated death this time, but nobody could tell how things would go next time. The thought of her not being around terrified him more that he had ever expected and by the realization how afraid he was to lose her, he could not withstand her anymore.

"Hey, Lennox. You can pull over just there."

Felice' voice brought him back to reality. They'd reached the airport and he pulled into a parking lot not far from the entrance.

"I'll walk you inside." he said with a distracted smile, hoping that his thoughts had gone unnoticed by his friends.

Epps and Felice took their luggage and headed for the check-in terminals. While they were waiting for their flight to be boarded, Lennox and Epps talked about some football game they wanted to see in the near future and Felice used the time to make some calls. The chat with Epps made him currently forget about their last mission. Maybe it was good to take a short break from all the tension at work and bring a little space between him and Felice.

He watched her, standing a few feet away, talking to somebody on the phone. She wasn't wearing her uniform, but skinny jeans and a black tank top. Her long, blond hair was held back by her Ray Ban. Lennox smirked, admiring the sight of his friend. How could this blonde green-blue-eyed woman in skinny jeans and a low cut tank top be a fighter pilot and a NEST soldier? Geez, women weren't looking like this when he joined the service!

While Lennox still observed Felice, she ended her call, hung up and sighed.

"That was Chris. He wanted to hear if I am alright. He had heard about our trip to China."

By the mentioning of her RIO and their latest op, Lennox' feelings about what had happened not too long ago came back crashing over him like a wave. Images of her getting shot at, her falling from the gallery flashed through his mind and he wondered why he'd never had this kind of flashback after past ops. He roused from his thoughts, when she slightly touched his arm.

"Hey, somebody at home?" she said jokingly.

"Yeah, I was just thinking." he replied.

"About what?"

_That you are such a beautiful and brave woman, Felice_. Lennox thought to himself but this time he kept himself from saying those words. He didn't want her to think that he would break his promise again; even though he wasn't sure about that. Truth to be told, he didn't want her to leave. But before he could answer, her flight was called up and they had to say goodbye.

"Alright then." Lennox started, but he didn't exactly know what to say. He didn't want to let her go. The past days had shown him once more how fast things could happen to people he cared about.

_Shut it, Lennox. She'll be gone for only a few days. She'll be fine_, he scolded himself and forced himself to smile at her.

"Have a safe flight and enjoy your vacation."

Felice somehow felt his intensity, so she leaned in and embraced him. As they stepped apart, she locked eyes with him as if reassuring that she would return. She'd felt his changed mood and she was sure it was because of what happened in China. But they had a deal and she would not push things further than they had already gotten.

"Take care of yourself." she whispered.

"You too." he murmured.

Felice felt that if she would stay any longer that close to him, she wouldn't be able to get to her flight. When on earth had she become so attached to him? She turned away without saying another word and headed for the security control Epps had passed already.

Epps and Felice returned from their short vacation a few days later and the team went back to their day work. The next months were uneventful as ever; no major Decepticon attacks took place. They were called to several small encounters but it seemed that these were only the remains of a lost rebellion some Decepticons and their human operatives fought.

Felice responded to these calls as well and these times she didn't have to take any breakneck risks. She was also glad that Lennox didn't question her actions any longer. Her little stunt in China seemed to have shown him the capabilities of his newest team member; though Felice could feel his watchful eye when she was in the field.

Since they were back in the DC and back to their daily routines, the Colonel didn't make any other try at getting close to her, like in China. When Lennox had taken her and Epps to the airport, Felice had felt a change in her friend's behavior, wasn't quite sure.

After they'd returned from their latest mission she'd dreamed a few times about the incident between her and Lennox. Every time she did, she woke up at night she found herself covered in sweat, and every morning after those dreams she had the feeling that her thoughts were written in big letters across her forehead. She was convinced that things like having an affair with somebody from work wasn't making life easier; especially in a dangerous job like they were doing. She had her code about not dating enlisted men and she'd broken it with Lennox once not to mention their little encounters after her last mission as a fighter pilot and her first as a NEST soldier. But the days she'd spent back home with her family didn't give her the chance to think about the whole situation either. And she was too busy at work to take the time and sort out her feeling for her CO. But sometimes, Felice regretted that she'd stopped Lennox back then in China.


	18. Chapter 18

When Felice entered the hangar one morning, she found her team mates and Lennox standing next to the Autobots. Everyone was obviously in a very good mood. As soon as Felice had reached them, she asked what was going on.

"James is going to get married." Scott told her. "And we are all invited!"

Felice smiled to the tall man, standing in the middle of the group.

"Congratulations, James. That's awesome." she said with a genuine smile. Her team mate reciprocated it, making Felice smile even more. It was good to see these guys being happy in private, considering the dangerous jobs they all were doing.

"Thanks, Felice. We are planning to get married back home in Miami, where my family and Emily are from. Are you coming?"

"Sure thing." Felice smiled.

"But Emily doesn't want any of you guys to wear a uniform." James informed them and Felice silently thanked her team mate's bride. She was glad to be wearing something normal. She spent over ten hours a day in her black uniform and even though it was practical and comfortable, she was just a girl after all who likes to wear something special from time to time. Suddenly, she realized that everyone as staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked a little bewildered.

"It's the first time we see you wearing some other than your uniform." Scott grinned and burst into laughing as Felice blushed.

"Let's keep the focus on the bride, will you." she said rolling her eyes. Sometimes it was exhausting to be the only female working with a bunch of testosterone-filled cowboys. But as she caught Lennox' glance she blushed even more. God, what was that man doing with her? They had an agreement!

"And don't forget to bring your partners."

Felice' heart dropped. Everyone except her and Lennox had were married or at least in a relationship. Even Epps had showed up with a pretty brunette one evening when she, Lennox and Jones wanted to watch some movies together. She had to solve this problem; otherwise she would end up sitting at a table filled with frustrated singles.

For the rest of the day, everyone was in an excellent mood due to the upcoming party and Felice did her best to be happy for her team mate, but she told herself that she had to find a date for that evening as soon as possible.

While the former fighter pilot thought about a solution for that problem, Lennox was on the fence concerning that very same issue. His first thought had been asking Felice, his second not attending the wedding. He was genuinely happy for his team mate, but he was not sure if he could stand seeing that couple together. Not because he was unhappy. He was glad to live his life the way he did, that was without question.

_You can't let the past affect your everyday life,_ he told himself sternly. It would be impolite not to attend the wedding. And his issues concerning Felice? He rose from his desk and strolled over to the windows of his office. She was with the team, cleaning weapons, chatting with the guys. From his line of sight the blonde bangs of her ponytail concealed her eyes. As if she'd sensed his glance, she blew them out of her face while adjusting the silencer to the gun she was working on. She looked up to the windows of his office, seeing him and smiling at him. He nodded with an imperceptible smile and returned to his desk.

_Oh, to hell with it_, he thought. He would ask her and deal with the fallout later.

It was late that evening and the sun had vanished long ago, when Felice headed to her car. She was about to open the driver's door when someone touched her shoulder. In half a second, her reflexes clicked and she grabbed the strangers hand and swirled around, while she drew her gun out of her back waistband. When she saw who she was threatening she lowered her gun exhaling heavily.

"Gosh Will, how many times have I told you not to sneak up to me from behind!" she exclaimed and put the gun back into her waistband.

"I'm sorry. I should have known better." he said with a mocking smile and she reciprocated it. But the hunted look in her eyes hadn't gone unnoticed on him.

"Yeah, you should have. So what might be so important that you forget that it is not a wise decision to engage with a NEST member from behind?" she asked and leaned against her car, arms crossed in front of her chest.

It was not the first time the Colonel had seen this kind of behavior on his newest team member. They were armed multiple hours at work each day and concerning him, he was glad to leave the weapons at work. But he'd witnessed Felice to be armed almost all the time. First he'd only seen the gun in the hidden holster in her waistband, but one time he'd seen the handle of a knife peering out of her boots. Somehow he knew that he wouldn't get an answer about this issue from her, so he'd asked Epps about it and was surprised to see his friend go all silent on it. He'd mumbled something about a past op and told him to ask her about it. It had left him stunning and confused, but he respected her privacy and hoped that she would tell him the story someday.

"I… Actually, I was wondering…uh… do you have someone to take to James' wedding?" he asked and Felice was stunned to see the Colonel running out of words for the first time since they'd known each other.

"No." she replied quietly, still too surprised about his change in behavior. One second he was the kickass NEST leader, the next he was smiling at her sheepishly.

"Do you mind if I ask you to be my partner?" And as Felice hesitated with her answer, he added quickly: "I know we have a deal. I promise, just one evening." The words came out of his mouth very fast and Felice sighed silently, because it was so incredibly gorgeous to see him like that.

"You are asking me like for a prom date." she replied and it took her a lot not so laugh.

"Means no?"

"I'd love to go with you." she replied with a genuine smile. "Actually, you just solved my problem, too."

Hearing Lennox sigh with relief Felice could feel her heart beating a little faster as well as by the sight of his old half-mocking grin.

"Then we have a date?" he smirked.

"We have a date."


	19. Chapter 19

The next weeks passed rapidly and before Felice could even worry about what their team mates would say if they would see her and Lennox arriving together, she found herself sitting in the plane to Miami. James' family had booked several rooms in a hotel, were Lennox, Felice and the other NEST members were staying.

Now, it was almost time to leave for the wedding dinner, but Felice still struggled with her hair. She was not satisfied yet. A knock on her door interrupted her small curse tirade and she rushed to the door, still in a white bathrobe.

"Yeah?"

"Felice, we have to leave. The cab is waiting already." she heard Lennox' voice through the door.

"I… uh… need some more time."

"I know. Come on, we are going to be late. Don't be so girlish!"

Felice grinned as she heard his words.

"I won't have to be _girlish_, if James had allowed us to wear a uniform. And hey, you asked me."

"I am starting to regret it." Lennox replied, but Felice could tell that he was teasing her.

"Go, I will come later. And you won't regret it." _Or let's hope so, _Felice added silently and hustled back into the bathroom as she heard Lennox walking away.

Half an hour later, Felice was sitting in a cab that brought her to her destination. She was so nervous, like they were having a real date.

_Stop it, girl. You have a deal with him, _she told herself firmly and waited for the driver to stop in front of the entrance. She paid him, took a deep breath and got out of the car.

Like their first date in DC, Lennox was waiting in front of the entrance, but this time he wore a black tuxedo that was fitting him perfectly. One hand casually in the pocket of his dress pants, he glanced around for her. Then he spotted her and his expression changed completely.

For a moment he just stared at her. She wore a sparkly black one shoulder mini-dress with black high-heels. Her long blond hair floated over her sleeved- shoulder in big golden waves. Was this really the woman he was working with every day; wearing a uniform and full protective gear?

Just as she'd reached him, he found back his tongue. Felice shot him an uncertain glance.

„How do I look?"

"You look breathtaking."

Felice gave him a thankful smile and tightened the grip around her clutch. She had been unsure if she would be overdressed, but since James had told her that their wedding would be in one of Miami's most exclusive hotels (Emily's father knew the owner), she'd decided to wear something special. But even though she tried to tell herself it was just for the special occasion, she could not shut out the voice in her ear telling her that she was doing this to impress Lennox.

"Shall we, Colonel Lennox?"

She tensed and stepped to her friend who was about to close his jacket and linked arms with him.

"Ready when you are, Commander Manning." he smirked and led her into the building. It turned out that bride's father had rented the whole hotel and so it was not easy to find their coworkers and the happy wedding couple.

Felice spotted their team first. They had turned their backs at them and were talking to James and his bride. By the sight of the familiar people, Felice slowed down. Somehow, she was just as nervous as minutes ago when she'd seen Lennox, but this time is was different. They would see her as the girl she obviously was, not as the tough soldier who would have their backs in a fight. They would see her with their CO; in private. And Felice wasn't sure if she and Lennox weren't crossing the line they'd become so used to dance on in the past couple of months. But now there was no turning back.

Lennox sensed her changed mood and gently placed his hand on the small of her back. She turned to him and for a moment they looked into each other's eyes, forgetting everything around them.

"It was worth waiting every second for seeing you like this." he whispered and she held her breath when he carefully adjusted a strand of her hair, as if he was afraid to destroy her beauty. Then, from one second to the next, his old grin was back. Felice glanced to the small group of people and took a deep breath.

"Go get them, tiger."

They walked towards their friends and she could not keep the grin of her face, as she saw one by one turn around to them; just staring at her. Seeing her like that _and_ with Lennox; the look on their faces was priceless.

"Hey guys." Felice said, but no one except Epps was able to speak.

"Felice… you look absolutely wonderful." he smiled and gave her a light kiss on her cheek, thereby whispering to her: "Girl, what are you getting yourself into?"

"I was asking this very question myself." she replied as quietly as him, but as she saw him still smiling, she knew that he was glad that Lennox had asked her.

One after one said hello to them; paying Felice numerous compliments about her outfit. Her sorrows about what her team would think vanished within minutes. Then they finally managed to congratulate the newlyweds. It turned out that James' bride was French and Felice had the opportunity to speak in her native language. She congratulated her on the marriage and they chatted about the food and some brands Emily found hard to get in the states.

"Mais oui, je sais une magazine où vous pouvez achêter toutes ces choses." she replied. "Connaissez-vous Pierro bakery? Le propriétaire va importer tout vous avez besoin de."

Emily nodded smiling, thankful for the tip. She explained that she wanted to cook an original French meal for her new family. But she couldn't get hold of a few special ingredients. They chatted for a while; then they were called away for the dinner. Felice and Lennox took their places along with their team members and their partners. It was a funny dinner and they had a really good time.

As soon the dinner was over, they got up to get some fresh air. While Epps and Scott volunteered to get some drinks, Lennox pulled Felice aside.

"Did I miss something?" Lennox asked her, as soon as they were alone.

"Why?" Felice replied with a confused look.

"You speak French?"

"Sure. I was born there. It's in my file."

"I must have skipped that part." Lennox mumbled.

"Any issues with my origin?" Felice asked eying at him suspiciously.

"Of course not." Then a teasing grin curled his lips. "Actually, I think it's sexy."

"Sexy?" Felice raised an eyebrow, not knowing that Lennox loved her for that. "We had…"

"…a deal. Why can't you just let me pay you a compliment without thinking that I am going to take advantage of you?" he said in a fake hurt tone.

Felice laughed.

"I am still trying to get used to that. Normally, I don't get many compliments when wearing my uniform."

"You would get a compliment from me every time I see you, darling."

Her head flew around as she saw Epps heading to her, obviously having overheard their conversation.

"Thanks, Epps. I'll drink to that."

She took the small glass filled with liquor and raised it.

"To our happy married couple."

"To James and Emily." the others replied in union. "Let's get the party started."

**Translations:**

_Mais oui, je sais une magazine où vous pouvez achêter toutes ces choses._ – Of course, yes. I know a shop where you can get all these things.

_Connaissez-vous Pierro backery? Le propriétaire est francais et va importer tout vous avez besoin de_. – Do you know Pierro bakery? The owner is French and will import/get you everything you need.

**AN: To those of you being French readers or native speakers. Please don't kill me for my translation. I don't get to speak this beautiful language not nearly enough. And to be honest: sometimes it's quite confusing to be native in German, writing and speaking English while inserting French to this story. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: This chapter is rated M! You may want to stop reading before they hit the hotel. Otherwise: enjoy the chapter!**

Felice was having a great time with her team members. She enjoyed the party, having drinks with her friends, talking about everything but work and taking a break from their dangerous job; if only for this night.

Lennox barely left her side and she wasn't complaining about it. His hand rested on her waist almost all the time as if he was telling the others that she was his girl and Felice caught herself thinking that this wasn't such a bad thing after all. Somewhere between the desert and the first speech, Felice had thrown caution in the wind and decided just to enjoy the evening by taking Lennox as who he was (and not only tonight): a very good friend and maybe more; not as her CO. Little did she know that Lennox had silently decided to do the same.

When the Colonel had seen Felice walking towards him in that breathtaking dress, he'd remembered their first date in Washington. The lightness he'd felt around her when they'd talked endless hours about anything and everything, the evenings they'd spent together at his place when she couldn't move into her apartment, the weekend lunches with Epps and their friends. He'd been holding back all the time for not compromising her reputation in the team. But having this beautiful and enchanting woman next to him, he felt how much energy it had cost him to keep the distance. And seeing her like this, he wasn't sure if he could hold the promise he'd given her in what felt an eternity ago.

At some point, everyone started dancing and so did they. Felice danced with Epps and Scott several times, but she felt most comfortable in Lennox' strong arms. Neither of them had drunken all the liquor Epps had offered them; Felice preferred to have a sober mind at any time.

Now, they were barely leaving the dance floor, just to have an excuse to stay that close to each other. Lennox arms were wrapped around her as her wrists were locked around his neck. Felice tried to avoid looking into his eyes, because every time she did she felt her knees go weak; but her attempts failed miserably.

"Where are the others?" she heard Lennox' deep voice and felt his breath on her neck.

"Seems that they all went to the bar. Why?"

"We could get out of here unnoticed." he whispered and Felice raised her head to look him into the eyes. "Felice, I can't stand being so close to you and not kissing you any longer."

"Me neither." she whispered breathlessly and the next second, Lennox had dissolved their tight embrace and placed his hand on her back, guiding her to the exit. Neither of them saw any of their team members they might have to explain why they were leaving, so they got into one of the cabs that were waiting in front unnoticed.

As soon as Lennox shut the door, he pulled her close and kissed her hard. She let out a little moan and clutched her hands around his neck; pulling him closer. Without stopping to kiss her, Lennox shifted her so that she was sitting on his lap. When his hand slid under her dress, she stopped him.

Lennox looked to her in bewilderment.

"Let's safe this for later." Felice chuckled and placed his hand on her back. "As if this isn't enough cliché, though."

"What?"

"Two singles hooking up after a friend's wedding. That's so cheesy."

Lennox laughed, his eyes sparkling with cockiness, and pulled her close again. Just before their lips were meeting, he whispered: "Yeah, and guess what?"

"Huh?"

"I don't give a shit about it."

"That's my man." Felice chuckled and leaned in to kiss him again.

She didn't realize that they were already at their hotel until the driver knocked on the window that was separating them from him. She blushed, exchanging a sheepish look with Lennox and got of his lap. Geez, she wasn't the least appropriate for a NAVY officer and she was glad she wasn't wearing her uniform or any insignia giving away her profession. While Lennox paid the driver, she smoothed down her dress and hair. Then he exited the car and offered her a helping hand. She took it and was pulled into his arms immediately. But before he could lean in to kiss her again, she stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.

"Hey Lennox. We need to cut a deal."

Lennox pulled back, exhaling heavily. "Another deal? We are just about to break the last one!"

"Another deal." Felice said, but she couldn't stay solid for long. "This is disorderly behavior, Will. We can get into serious trouble for that. So no kissing until we are in upstairs. Will you take the challenge, Colonel?" she smirked.

"Fine." Lennox replied, reciprocating her smirk. "Come on."

As before, he placed his hand in the small of her back. Through the thin fabric of her dress, she could feel his fingers moving, gently caressing her spine. For a second they looked at each other and Felice was not sure, if he wasn't going to break their deal, but then he followed her towards the hotel entrance.

As soon as they were in the elevator and the doors had closed, Lennox pulled her close, his lips immediately finding hers, his hands roaming over her body. Felice stopped him from kissing her again. God, she wouldn't survive another assault. He was going to be the death of her!

"Remember our first date in D.C.?" she asked.

"How could I ever forget about it." he replied with a grin.

"There was something I've missed that night." she said with a challenging smile.

"And what would this be?" he smiled and pulled her even closer to her so that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Your special combat techniques. Haven't shown me any of them yet." Her voice was barely a whisper now.

"Oh, you will, Commander." he whispered back and rested his hands on her waist.

Too soon the doors of the elevator opened and he released her of his embrace, yet placing his hand on her back again.

As soon as they'd closed the door to her room, Lennox pulled her close again, but he didn't kiss her. Felice gazed up into his eyes, wanting to get lost in them. He was so tall, standing next to her like this. Feeling his warmth surround her and his muscular arms embrace her protectively. All those months since their first date, she'd been so close to him but he'd been out of reach. Put there by her decision. And now, finding herself in his arms, she knew this was the place she wanted to be since their first encounter. She looked into his eyes, finding them sparkle in a dark blue nuance.

Lennox inhaled her clean scent, every nerve of his body focused on the woman in his arms. Holding her slender body he could feel her curves right underneath his hands. He leaned in, all but inhaling her, their lips almost meeting. He could just about taste her sweetness. But he didn't want her to think that she was just a good laid to him. They'd started as brothers in arms, followed by an almost- relationship, being co-workers and friends for a while and somewhere in between she'd made her way into his heart. By not pushing things, maybe by showing him the boundaries she'd set up from the beginning. He didn't only know that she was hard to get but also that she would be with him _if_ he would get her. So the next words felt only natural when he said them.

"I love you. You know that, right?" he whispered.

"I love you too." Felice whispered back and by the second she'd said it she knew that it was right. She had denied it the longest time but she was in love with Will Lennox, no matter whether he was her CO or not. And all she wanted was to be with him.

So she leaned in and kissed him. But this kiss was different. Not the kind they had exchanged in the car or ever before. It was tender and sweet. Felice pulled him closer. The kiss became more urgent. Their tongues teased and probed each other's mouths. Felice felt her head spinning, but it wasn't from the liquor. She was drunk on Lennox. His hands began to feel her body then rested down to the curve of her hips. She pressed against him tightly, feeling the stirrings within. Then without warning, she pulled away, leaving him panting.

"We'd better lock the door." she murmured, but before she could turn, he was pressed against her.

"Come here."

She felt his arms around her. His hands stroke through her loose hair, his mouth on her neck. Goosebumps broke out over her entire body as his mouth followed the nape of her neck and she shuddered.

Slowly, Lennox began to undress her. He unzipped her sparkling dress and let it drop to the floor. Only her black panties and her bra remained. For a moment he just stopped in his movements, his eyes roaming over her body.

"Admiring the view, Colonel?" she whispered with a hint of a smile on her lips; reaching for his jacket to pull it off.

"Most definitely." he chuckled and let his tie drop carelessly on the floor. It was a random motion, but this combined with the look in his eyes, it fueled the fire already burning in her even more. Felice' fingers were itching to touch his skin. She couldn't wait much longer. With his help she pulled off his shirt. Her hands traced the lines of his abdomen, hard and firm. Her fingers worked at his belt. It came flying out of the loops with a tug. His hands were already working his trousers down his hips. He stepped out of them, then reaching out for her and lifted her up to the desk nearby. Absentmindedly she wondered where her underwear had gone, but in this moment she couldn't care less. He thrust his way into her, pulling her body against his. She grabbed him tighter, wrapping her legs around his waist. She wanted to feel him deeper still.

With one swift motion, Lennox turned and laid them on the bed. He was on top of her. For a moment, he just soaked in the image of this beautiful woman squirming underneath him. Her lips were flushed and her hair floated over the white pillows. She couldn't look more attractive to him. They looked in each other's eyes and suddenly they realized they had all the time in the world.

They made love; slow and methodical, taking time to explore each other as they went. And when they were tired they slept wrapped up in each other's arms.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning Felice woke up by some motion close by. She opened her eyes and found Lennox lying next to her, watching her wake up.

"Good morning Commander." he smiled.

"Good morning Colonel." she replied and stretched herself. Lennox watched her with a smile. The sun was shining through the curtains, sending golden reflections over her blonde hair.

She reciprocated it a little bewildered. "What is it?"

"God, you are beautiful." he murmured and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was long and lingering. Soon Lennox had her pinned under him, enjoying the intimacy with his lover. Felice reciprocated his kisses, but a quick glance to the clock on the opposite wall of the room told her that they were running into some serious trouble if they would keep going on. So she had to be the one to stop things before it went too far. Lennox shot her a confused glance and she nodded wordlessly towards the clock.

"Yeah, we really have to go." Lennox murmured, regretting that they had to leave their room. Reluctantly he rose, running his hand through his ruffled hair.

Felice knew that they had to leave. To leave their little universe and return to the harsh reality of their daily work life. To a reality where a nugget NEST solider was well- advised not to hook up with her CO. They'd risked their career. Lennox had risked it, multiple times. For her. And she was not sure if she was ready to do it as well. Suddenly she shivered. She wrapped a sheet around her body and followed him out of bed.

"I know. I guess I've kept you long enough."

The sad tone in her voice made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Do you see me complaining?" he asked and leaned in to kiss her.

"I don't think anyone was complaining."

He held onto her hand as he was about to move them back to the bed. She gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

She shrugged. By the look in her eyes he understood. He'd hoped to have shown her that he would do anything to prevent that this affect their work and especially her reputation. He pulled her close.

"Everything will be fine, Felice. You'll see."

He wrapped her up into his arms. She let her fingers run over his bare chest.

"But what about your… our team? What will they say, when they hear about… us?" she replied.

That very thought had crossed his mind as well. Earlier, when he couldn't sleep anymore while he watched her sleeping he'd racked his brain about that problem. Now that they'd willingly crossed the line, they had to deal with the possible fallout.

"Well, it would be the best to keep it secret, for now… if you don't mind."

Looking up into his blue eyes, Felice found all the kindness and love and reassurance she needed. She smiled as she shook her head.

"I'm fine with it if you are." she replied, then a grin curled her lips. "But this not going to be easy." she whispered and leaned in to kiss him.

"Oh, I know exactly what you are talking about." Lennox murmured and pushed her back onto the bed.

It took them another hour and three calls from Epps to Lennox and her, until they finally managed to get down into the lobby. Epps was waiting in one of the lounge chairs and as he caught sight of them, a big grin spread across his face.

"Where are the others?" Lennox asked and let is bag drop next to Epps' chair.

"Already heading to the airport."

"Good, I am just checking out. Felice, I need your keys." Lennox nodded.

"Sure." she handed them to him with a small smile. It was all Epps needed as a confirmation. He had known his friends long enough and considering him it was about time that the Colonel and his fighter pilot had admitted what they felt for each other. All those stolen looks at work from either of them hadn't gone unnoticed by Epps and maybe the party yesterday, the change of environment had been the push they needed.

As soon as Lennox had turned his back to them, he grabbed Felice' arm and pulled her down into the lounge chair next to him.

"Finally." he said with a big grin. "I want to know everything!"

"Finally what?" Felice played innocent. The last thing she wanted was to discuss her love life with Epps.

"I am not blind, Felice. You and Lennox." Epps said and nodded to the Colonel who was speaking to the receptionist. "What exactly happened last night?"

Felice sighed. "Epps…"

He raised his hands in defense. "I get it. None of my business. I am just happy for you. It was about time." he smiled and Felice reciprocated it sheepishly. Looking in the dark eyes of her friend, she knew that she couldn't fool him. And that their secret was safe.

"Just please don't…"

"My lips are sealed."

"Thank you." Felice whispered and got up as Lennox was back with them.

Together they drove to the airport in silence to meet the others. Luckily, everyone except Felice and Lennox was having a hangover, so there was not much talking. Because their delayed check-in, they sat in some distance to their team members.

As soon as the plane was in the air, Felice placed her head on Lennox' shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her to pull her close. He tenderly kissed her hair and inhaled her scent. Feeling her soft skin under his fingers, hearing her even breathing William Lennox considered himself a damn lucky man. Not only that a beautiful girl was sleeping in his arms, but this very person was a kickass fighter pilot and NEST soldier and he knew that he could rely on her each and every day. He silently smirked as he caught himself thinking it which outfit suited her better; her uniform or THAT dress.

As if Felice had sensed his thoughts, she looked up with a sleepy smile.

"You are not so bad yourself, Colonel." she murmured while caressing his yaw.

"Shut up, Spur." he grunted but she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Roger that." she whispered and snuggled to his side. It was the first time he'd called her by her call-sign. And she decided to take it as a good omen for whatever was lying ahead of them. A little while later, they both drifted off to the much needed sleep neither of them was able to get last night.

End.

**AN: That's it! A big thanks to all those loyal readers who stayed with me the whole time. You made it easy for me to keep on writing and improving the story. **

**As you may have noticed, some of Felice' and Lennox' secrets still remain in the shadows. I am currently working on a sequel, having the background stories for them figured out. But I am not sure yet how to place them into a good storyline and this may take a while. So goodbye for now!**


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